The phenomenological study of precipitation in the AISI 316L austenitic stainless steel has been carried out, and criteria of \(\sigma\) -phase nucleation available in the literature were presented. An empirical model has been established in this study to predict the evolution of the nickel concentrations at the carbide–matrix interface, as a function of annealing conditions. This model is successfully validated using the available experimental data. Based on the main criteria proposed to predict the σ-phase precipitation and using profiles of chromium, nickel and iron concentrations at the carbide–matrix interface, an analytical model, have been proposed to predict the time temperature precipitation diagram of the \(\sigma\) -phase. The efficacy and the reliability of these criteria has been verified by comparison with the experimental diagram, and the equivalent chromium content (ECC) seems to be the most suitable criterion.
