Corrosion behavior of SiC and FeCrC reinforced AISI 304 components fabricated by plasma wire arc additive manufacturing (P-WAAM)

Wire arc additive manufacturing (WAAM) has recently been widely used to produce different materials. The present study fabricated AISI 304 stainless steel parts using the Plasma-WAAM (P-WAAM) method. FeCrC and SiC microparticles were added to enhance the corrosion properties of additive-manufactured (AM) AISI 304. The corrosion behaviors of the samples were studied in the 3.5 wt.% NaCl solution using electrochemical techniques. The results show that additively manufactured AISI 304 sample microstructure consisted of austenitic and delta-ferrite phases in the form of lathy and skeletal. The electrochemical results showed that the 304-WAAM sample open circuit potential (E-ocp) was -180 mV and slightly more cathodic than the 304-NT sample. The E-ocp decreased by 69 and 145 mV in the 304-FeCr and 304-SiC samples, respectively, compared to the 304-WAAM sample. The polarization resistance of the WAAM sample was triple compared to the reinforced with microparticles WAAM sample due to lower galvanic activity. In addition, the corrosion resistance was investigated by impedance technique, and it was found that the WAAM 304 without reinforcement had a better protective film with a larger semi-circle capacitive loop.