TITLE:
Thermomechanical Behavior and Corrosion Resistance of a 316 L Austenitic Stainless Steel
AUTHORS:
Rafael P. Ferreira, Carmem C. F. Nascimento, Gedeon S. Reis, Eden S. Silva, Samuel F. Rodrigues
KEYWORDS:
316 L Austenitic Stainless Steel, Softening Phenomena, Corrosion
JOURNAL NAME:
Materials Sciences and Applications,
Vol.11 No.4,
April
1,
2020
ABSTRACT: Hot-formed components are constantly exposed to hostile environments with corrosive substances. Microstructural changes caused by thermomechanical processing can be predicted to increase the corrosion resistance of austenitic stainless steels. The objective of this study is to understand the relationship between the dynamic softening mechanisms and corrosion resistance, thus optimizing the hot-forming process. In the current work, the dynamic recrystallization (DRX) behavior of AISI 316 L austenitic stainless steel was studied in the temperature range of 1273 - 1423 K and strain-rate range of 0.1 - 5.0 s-1 using physical simulation. Subsequently, potentiodynamic polarization tests and scanning electron microscopy were performed on the hot-deformed samples to investigate the influence of temperature and strain-rate on the corrosion resistance and mechanical properties. The results indicated that the DRX fractions increased under low-temperature and high strain-rate conditions, resulting in grain refinement. The potentiodynamic polarization tests indicated that the dynamically recovered samples demonstrated high resistance to corrosion compared with the DRX samples. The best route found for the investigated alloy was for the strain to be applied at a temperature of 1423 K and a strain rate of 0.1 s-1.