The Influences of Martensitic Transformations on Cavitation-Erosion Damage Initiation and Pitting Resistance of a Lean Austenitic Stainless Steel

Abstract

This paper looks into the influences of martensitic transformations on the cavitation-erosion (CE) damage initiation mechanism and pitting corrosion resistance of a lean austenitic stainless steel. The ε and α' martensites are prime sites of CE damage initiation for this steel, whereas grain boundaries are more favourable damage initiation sites for other similar steels. The profusion of ε and α' results in fast surface roughening during the CE process, which may cause a compromise in performance when this steel (or similar steels that have the same CE damage mechanism) is used for such applications as hydro-machinery or piping. ε and α' also detrimentally affect the pitting resistance of this steel and so they are expected to affect CE resistance adversely due to the synergism between CE and corrosion.

Effect of Cavitation Intensity on the Cavitation Erosion Behavior of 316L Stainless Steel in 3.5 wt.% NaCl Solution

“…Passivation metals also have good repassivation performance, meaning that they can carry out repassivation self-repair when their surfaces are damaged, improving service performance in corrosive media [17][18][19][20]. Consequently, passivation metals, especially stainless steels, are widely used in aerospace, nuclear energy, marine and other industrial fields, particularly in the presence of CE, due to their superior corrosion resistance and good mechanical properties [21][22][23][24][25].…”

Effects of Micro-Sized Ferrite and Austenite Grains on the Pitting Corrosion Behavior of Lean Duplex Stainless Steel 2101

“…Westin et al [14] addressed the effects of alloying elements and thermal cycles on the phase balance and microstructure in the high-temperature heat-affected zone of LDX 2101. Recently, Wang and Tavares [15,16] reported that the deformation-induced martensitic transformations could reduce the pitting resistance of LDX. However, studies on the dissolution and precipitation of γ phases in hot working environments and their effects on pitting corrosion in LDX 2101 are lacking.…”