Professional Documents
Culture Documents
25-29, 2010
Abstract
The effect of cold work intensity on the stress corrosion cracking (SCC) behavior of AISI 304
austenitic stainless steel was studied in accordance with the ASTM G36-94. The samples were unidirectional
cold-rolled up to 60 and 90 percent reduction in thickness, prepared to be U-bend specimens and tested in
boiling 42 wt% magnesium chloride solution at 1551C. The result indicated that the cold work intensity
significantly impacted on the cracking appearance. The result indicated that the cold work intensity
significantly impacted on cracking appearance. By considering the microstructure from scanning electron
microscope (SEM) after SCC testing, transgranular cracking appeared in the sample with 60 percent
reduction in thickness while the sample with 90 percent reduction in thickness showed intergranular
cracking. The corrosion severity associated with stress significantly depends on the percent reduction in
thickness. Corrosion rate in terms of millimeter per year increased with the level of cold work intensity.
Key words: Austenitic stainless steel, Cold work, Stress corrosion cracking, Magnesium chloride solution
Introduction
before the corrosion rate in terms of millimeter per
Austenitic stainless steels have been year has been calculated. Finally, fracture surface
extensively used in many engineering applications was investigated by Scanning Electron Microscope.
because their corrosion resistance and mechanical
property.(1) It is necessary to use manufacturing Materials and Experimental Procedures
processes, i.e. cold rolling, forging and deep
drawing, in order to reach high strength and The material used in this work is a commercial
hardness for engineering applications. An extra austenitic stainless steel AISI 304 having 12.5 mm
high cold work level has been used normally in in thickness. The chemical compositions measured
manufacturing processes in order to get the near by an emission spectroscopy are composed of
net shape. And, it is also known that after plastic 0.06wt%C, 18.60wt%Cr, 8.52wt%Ni, 0.55wt%Si,
deformation of austenitic stainless steels, there are 2.00wt%Mn, 0.03wt%P, 0.03wt%S and Fe balanced.
two important phenomena, i.e. work hardening and Firstly, the plate of AISI 304 stainless steel,
partial transformation of austenitic phase to be an 12.5 mm thickness, was solution annealed at
alpha and epsilon martensite.(1) Moreover, strain 1050C for 45 minutes and water-quenched. Then
hardening is increased significantly with the cold the plate was stress relief at 150C for 1 hour to
work level during fabrication; subsequently remove residual stress from the manufacturing
stainless steel is susceptible to stress corrosion processes. Nitrogen gas was flow into the tube
cracking (SCC) in service time.(1-4) In order to furnace to prevent the element oxidation during
evaluate effect of high cold work intensity on stress heat treatment process. After that the plate was
corrosion cracking of austenitic stainless steel, unidirectional cold-rolled of up to 60 and 90
this study has been performed. Firstly, the percent reduction in thickness at room temperature.
commercial AISI 304 stainless steels were cold- Then the plates were polished by silicon carbide
rolled of up to 60 and 90 percent reduction paper up to 1200-grit for removing all coarse
in thickness after that they were prepared to be scratches and contaminations. The samples were
U-bend specimens and boiled in magnesium rinsed by distilled water, acetone and were air-
chloride solution. Weight loss then was determined dried before preparing a U-bend specimen in
*Corresponding author Tel: +66 4422 4486; Fax: +66 4422 4482; E-mail: pornwasa@sut.ac.th
26
SUTTHIPRAPA, K. et al.
The examination of microstructure was could be explained that the high cold work level
carried out after the SCC test to evaluate the type of induced chromium carbide precipitation along
crack. From the results, it indicated that appearance grain boundary; subsequently the sample was
of crack was different and dependent on the level prone to be sensitization. Thus the certain sample
of cold work as shown in Figures 4 and 5. At 60 was placed in the aggressive media; it was easily
percent reduction in thickness, the brittle fracture susceptible to intergranular corrosion cracking. (1, 8)
and transgranular cracking appeared as shown in
Figure 4 (a) and (b) because most of microstructures Corrosion Rate of Cold-Rolled Austenitic Stainless
were the acicular martensite. Therefore, the Steel after SCC Test
specimen having the acicular martensite was
exposed to boiling magnesium chloride solution; it In order to understand the effect of cold
was easily broken and the main mode of crack was work level on corrosion behaviour of AISI 304, the
transgranular cracking. corrosion rate in terms of millimeters per year has
been calculated by using equation 1. Firstly, the
weight loss in grams of each specimen was
determined and summarized in Table 2.
8.76 10 4 0.0473
Corrosion rate =
7.94 (12 1.5 2) 4.28
8.76 10 4 0.0154
Corrosion rate =
7.94 (12 1.5 2) 0.70
(b) Intergranular cracking in sample with 90 percent
reduction in thickness. = 6.80 millimeters per year
Figure 5. Photograph and SEM micrograph of sample
with 90 percent reduction in thickness after The corrosion rate of each specimen is
SCC test. shown in Figure 6. It is seen that the corrosion rate
strongly depends on the cold work levels. From
Figure 5 shows the intergranular cracking previous SEM micrographs, cracking appearance
associated with dimple for the sample cold-rolled may not be a good indicator for corrosion severity.
of up to 90 percent reduction in thickness. At 90
percent reduction in thickness, the intergranular
cracking behavior appeared. From the results, this
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Stress Corrosion Cracking Behavior of Austenitic Stainless Steel AISI 304 with Cold Work
Severities of 60 and 90 Percent Reduction in Thickness
: 674-678.
6.00
Acknowledgement
References