Influence of Grain Size on Susceptibility to Intergranular Corrosion of AISI 316 Austenitic Stainless Steel
Hüseyin Zengin Yunus Türen Hayrettin Ahlatçı Yavuz Sun Burak Dursun Ünsever
AbstractIn this study, influence of grain size on degree of sensitization and susceptibility to intergranular corrosion of AISI 316 austenitic stainless steel was investigated. As-received AISI 316 austenitic stainless steel samples were first solution heat treated at 1050 oC for 0.5 h, 1.5 h and 3 h in order to obtain different grain sizes and then, each of them was heat treated for sensitization at 700 oC for 1h followed by water quenching. Grain size measurements of the first set of samples were performed by linear intercept method according to ASTM E112 standard and the degree of sensitization was measured by double loop electrochemical potentiodynamic reactivation (DLEPR) test. The results showed that grain size increased as the solution heat treatment time increased. A decrease in the degree of sensitization was observed for the samples having larger grains. That is to say, the increase in grain size improved intergranular corrosion resistance.