Effect of Corrosion Characteristics on Long-Term Aging of Austenitic 304 Steel

The objective of this study is to investigate the effect of long-term aging on electrochemical corrosion characteristics of austenitic AISI 304 steel. AISI 304 steel was subjected to aging treatment for an extended period at 700 degrees C up to a maximum of 10,000 h. The variation in the microstructure of aged specimens was observed with an optical microscope (OM) and a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The electrochemical polarization test was conducted to obtain the corrosion current density (Icorr) and corrosion potential (Ecorr). The metastable intermetallic M23C6 carbides generated in the vicinity of gamma/gamma grain boundaries and coarsened with aging time. The delta-ferrite island decomposed into sigma-phase and M23C6 carbide with an aging time increase. As the aging time increased, the current density increased, but the corrosion potential of the austenitized specimen exhibited a minimum value of 0.04 mu A/cm(2). The highest pitting resistance exhibited at the austenitized specimen due to the absence of carbides. Consequently, the corrosion resistance of austenitic AISI 304 steel decreases with long-term aging time. The microstructural analyses well support this result.