The effect of TiN inclusions and deformation-induced martensite on the corrosion properties of AISI 321 stainless steel

Stainless steel of type 321 is commonly used for the production of exhaust systems because of its temperature resistance and welding properties, which are better than those of AISI 304 or similar steels. AISI 321 is a titanium stabilized austenitic stainless steel, where this element is added to form carbides in order to avoid chromium impoverishment due to chromium carbide formation. Cold shaping can, in the case of austenitic stainless steel, cause the formation of deformation induced martensite, which can improve its mechanical properties, but unfortunately can also spoil its good resistance to corrosion. Titanium nitride inclusions are cathodic with respect to steels, and therefore cause their anodic dissolution. Martensite is, however, more susceptible to the corrosion than austenite in steels. The main aim of this study was to analyze the pitting corrosion and stress corrosion cracking which is initiated on prototype cold-formed outer exhaust sleeves during the testing of different cleaning procedures before chromium plating. Various microscopic methods were used to identify the initiation of corrosion and its propagation.     

Stress corrosion cracking of stainless steel bellows of satellite launch vehicle propellant tank assembly

Bellows made of austenitic stainless steel (AISI 304 grade) are being used as a conduit for liquid fuel and oxidizer in the propellant tank of a satellite launch vehicle. A few bellows were found leaky during re-pressure tests after 6 years of storage. A number of cracks were found originating from weld fusion lines. One of the leaking bellows was subjected to detailed metallurgical and chemical analysis. The synergistic effect of chloride ions and thermal stresses from welding was identified as the cause-a typical example of stress corrosion cracking (SCC).     

Environmentally assisted cracking of a paper machine duplex stainless steel suction roll material

Failure analysis of a paper machine duplex stainless steel suction roll material demonstrated that the mechanism of failure was intergranular stress-corrosion cracking followed by fatigue. Crack initiation was related to both the heat treatment of the alloy and the chloride content developed in the system during paper machine shutdowns. Crack propagation occurred during normal operating conditions by a corrosion fatigue mechanism.     

Failure analysis of AISI 321 tubes of heat exchanger

The present study is about the failures of tubes from a tube shell heat exchange in one of the compression stages used to cool and purify the gas produced in an off-shore platform. Conventional hydrostatic tests did not detect leaking in the heat exchanger, but these tests were conducted at room temperature, i.e., very distant to the service temperature (163 °C). However, tightness tests with helium gas have detected leaking. Some tubes were taken off for analysis and the liquid penetrating test detected cracks in crevices formed between the tube and the tube sheet. The cracks were found to be typical stress corrosion cracks with branched pattern. A non-destructive test with Eddy current probes was developed to give high percentage of detection. The work was conclusive about the main cause of failures. Due to the increase of chloride content of the water processed to concentrations higher than 1000 mg/L over the years, the substitution of AISI 321 tubes by superduplex steel is recommended.     

Stress corrosion cracking in 316L stainless steel bellows of a pressure safety valve

There were three consecutive occurrences of bellows failure in a particular pressure safety valve (PSV) of a petroleum refinery within a time span of one week. The bellows were made of 316L grade austenitic stainless steel, and the PSV was mounted on one of the vessels of vacuum gas oil service in a hydrocracker unit. Metallurgical analysis of the failed bellows revealed that the failure had occurred by stress corrosion cracking (SCC). It was found that the SCC was promoted in the bellows due to the presence of high amount of chloride ions in the operating environment. Studies confirmed that SCC had initiated from the outer surface of the bellows and propagated inwards, resulting in leakage of hydrocarbon from the PSV. The source of chlorine in the environment was identified. It was discovered that SCC in the bellows was caused due to a previous failure in the heavy polynuclear aromatics (HPNA) absorption bed located upstream the process flow line. This failure was due to the presence of high concentrations of chlorine in the granulated activated carbon that was used in the HPNA absorption bed. During the repair of the HPNA bed, there was deposition of carbon soot on the body of the PSV. This carbon soot was the source of chloride ions for SCC to occur in the bellows. Generally, in chloride SCC, crack propagation in 316L SS takes place by transgranular mode. In the present case, however, the crack propagation was predominantly by intergranular mode. The metallurgical factors responsible for this change in micro-mechanism of crack propagation during SCC have been discussed.     

Pitting corrosion failure of an AISI stainless steel pointer rod

In this study, failure analysis of a thermostatic mixing valve pointer rod made of AISI 304 stainless steel was performed. Visual examination, followed by an in-depth microstructural characterization using optical and scanning electron microscopy, was carried out for understanding the primary cause of failure. Energy dispersive X-ray, X-ray diffraction analysis and transmission electron microscopic analyses were also necessary supplements to this investigation. Finally, the obtained results infer that the combined effect of large amounts of MnS inclusions and the presence of deformation induced martensite adversely affected the pitting corrosion resistance of the pointer rod material. It is concluded that the pointer rod material was not properly investigated for defects prior to and after its fabrication.     

Ageing and cracking of simulated heat affected zones in 321 stainless steel

The heat affected zone (HAZ) of stabilised austenitic stainless steel welds may exhibit a serious form of intercrystalline cracking during service at high temperature. This type of embrittlement, well known as stress relief cracking, is related to thermal ageing: a fine and abundant intragranular Ti(C,N) precipitation appears near the fusion line during service at high temperature and modifies the mechanical behaviour of the HAZ. To analyse this embrittlement micro mechanism and to assess the lifetime of real components, different HAZ were simulated by various solution heat treatments, cold rolling and ageing conditions. The mechanical behaviour of these resulting materials was investigated using creep and tensile tests on smooth bars. Then, creep tests were carried out and simulated on notched bars by finite element calculations. A damage model was identified from intergranular damage measurements made on notched specimens and compared with calculated mechanical fields. Further tests on fatigue precracked specimens showed that crack propagation occurred under stress relaxation conditions in simulated HAZ material.     

Interplay of microbiological corrosion and alloy microstructure in stress corrosion cracking of weldments of advanced stainless steels

This paper presents an overview of the phenomenon of stress corrosion cracking (SCC) of duplex stainless steels and their weldments in marine environments and the potential role of microbial activity in inducing SCC susceptibility. As a precursor to the topic the paper also reviews the performance of the traditional corrosion-resistant alloys and their weldments and the necessity of using duplex stainless steels (DSS), in order to alleviate corrosion problems in marine environments. Given that the performance of weldments of such steels is often unsatisfactory, this review also assesses the research needs in this area. In this context the paper also discusses the recent reports on the role of microorganisms in inducing hydrogen embrittlements and corrosion fatigue.     

Investigation of stress corrosion cracking behavior of super 13Cr tubing by full-scale tubular goods corrosion test system

In this paper, a self-built device called “full-scale tubular goods corrosion test system” was used to test a 6 m length super 13Cr tubing (with coupling) to study its corrosion performance in spent acid. The specimen fractured at the tubing and was investigated by visual inspection, optical microscopy (OM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS), and mechanical test. It was the joint function of tensile force (78.6% actual yield strength), inner pressure (70 Mpa) and spent acid that induced stress corrosion cracking (SCC) of the tubing at 120 °C. Three different areas were found on the fracture surface, including crack initiation area, crack expansion area, and final fracture area. The fracture initiated from the “X” shape corrosion cracks which were evolved from small corrosion pits. The reduction of ductility and toughness may also facilitate SCC of the tubing.     

Failure analysis of stress corrosion cracking in heat exchanger tubes during start-up operation

The cracking failure of a new heat exchanger during first start-up operation has been analyzed. Through the investigation of the operating history of the equipment, analysis of the chemical compositions of tube material and corrosion products, metallographic test of specimens with cracks, the cracking mode can be described as the Stress Corrosion Cracking (SCC) of austenitic stainless steel. This kind of cracking was induced by the chloride in high temperature steam and tensile stress. The residual tensile stress due to seal expansion has been proved by numerical calculation. The pre-heating steam which was polluted by the catalyst with chloride is the main reason for the tube cracking in this case.     

Proton irradiation assisted localized corrosion and stress corrosion cracking in 304 nuclear grade stainless steel in simulated primary PWR water

Localized deformation and corrosion in irradiated 304 nuclear grade stainless steel in simulated primary water were investigated.The investigation was conducted by comparing the deformation structure,the oxide scale formed at the deformation structure,and their correlation with cracking.The results revealed that increasing the irradiation dose promoted localized corrosion at the slip step and grain boundary,which was primarily attributed to the strain concentration induced by enhanced localized deformation and depletion of Cr at grain boundary.Further,a synergic effect of the enhanced localized deformation and localized corrosion at the slip step and grain boundary caused a higher cracking susceptibility of the irradiated steel.     

On the stress corrosion cracking mechanisms of austenitic stainless steels

In this paper, experimental results on stress corrosion cracking in austenitic stainless steels are described. Crack growth data in sodium chloride solution for AISI 304 steel obtained for different metallurgical conditions, acoustic emission data recorded during crack growth and fractographic observations have been discussed with a view to identifying the operating mechanism. Some of the experimental observations such as crack propagation occurring in discontinuous jumps of the order of a few microns, lowering of the threshold stress intensity andJ-integral values on sensitization and cold working, typical transgranular fractographic features, transition in mode of fracture from transgranular to intergranular in sensitized conditions and activation energies of the order of 50 to 65 kJ/mol can all be accounted by hydrogen embrittlement mechanism. Hydrogen generated at the crack tip by corrosion reaction diffuses ahead of the crack tip under hydrostatic stress and influences the deformation process at the crack tip and also leads to the brittle component of the crack advance in jumps.     

Grain boundary engineering for improving stress corrosion cracking of 304 stainless steel

Grain boundary engineering (GBE) via low strain tension and annealing was used to enhance the resistance to stress corrosion cracking of a 304 stainless steel. Electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD) analysis exhibited that the GBE steel had a higher fraction of low-∑ coincidence site lattice (CSL) boundaries, larger grain-clusters, longer twin boundary chains, and fewer paths of connected non-twin boundaries with a more zigzag shape. Slow strain rate tests in high-temperature water showed that the GBE steel performed better plasticity, higher tensile strength, and similar yield strength compared to conventional steel. The low fraction of random boundaries in GBE steel resulted in a lower frequency of intergranular crack initiation, and the zigzag paths of non-twin boundaries made the intergranular crack propagation more difficult.     

Inhibition of stress corrosion cracking in 304 stainless steel through titanium ion implantation

The effects of titanium ion implantation on the stress corrosion cracking (SCC) behaviour of 304 austenitic stainless steel were studied. Slow strain rate tests (SSRTs) were conducted on 304 steel in air and in 5?wt-% NaCl solution. The microscopic effects of ion implantation were evaluated by Stopping and Range of Ions in Matter Procedures (SRIM). Fracture morphologies and microstructures were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The fracture surfaces illustrate that ion implantation significantly inhibits the corrosion pits that initiate SCC. A dense passive film, which inhibits SCC, was formed during the ion implantation process. SCC initiation was restrained due to the dense dislocation nets that were generated by titanium ion implantation.

Highlights

• Ion implantation inhibits SCC susceptibility.

• The lack of Cr at the grain boundary leads to the expansion of SCC along the grain boundary.

• Implantation-induced damage leads to high-density dislocations.

• The surface was amorphised due to high-density dislocations.

     

Evaluation of stress corrosion cracking and hydrogen embrittlement in an API grade steel

Stress corrosion cracking (SCC) and hydrogen embrittlement (HE) of pipeline steels in contact with soil was investigated. Different soils were prepared in order to determine their physical, chemical and bacteriological characteristics. Slow strain rate testing was carried out by using aqueous extracts from soil samples and NS4 standard solution. Stress vs. strain curves of API 5L grade X46 steel were obtained at different electrode potentials (E_corr, 100 mV below E_corr and 300 mV below E_corr) with 9 × 10⁻⁶ s⁻¹ and 9 × 10⁻⁷ s⁻¹ strain rate. In addition, the hydrogen permeation tests were carried out in order to evaluate the susceptibility of hydrogen penetrates into theses steels. The results demonstrated the incidence of cracking and their dependence on the potential imposed. In that case, cracking occurred by stress corrosion cracking (SCC) and the hydrogen embrittlement (HE) had an important contribution to cracking initiation and propagation. Cracking morphology was similar to the SCC reported on field condition where transgranular cracking were detected in a pipeline collapsed by land creeping. It was important to point out that even under cathodic potentials the material showed the incidence of secondary cracking and a significant reduction of ductility.     

Stress corrosion cracking of a 60 MW steam turbine rotor

The paper presents a root cause analysis of a steam turbine rotor blade groove cracking. The scope of analyses included material testing and mechanical integrity calculations. In scope of material testing, fracture microstructure was assessed and basic mechanical property characteristics of the rotor discs were determined. In scope of integrity analyses, the stress fields in the blade grooves were calculated and the possibility of cracking due to different mechanisms was assessed. Both calculations and material tests confirmed the stress corrosion cracking to be the root cause of the rotor failure. This was a basis for proposing the rotor discs repair by overlay welding with a lower strength material and modifications to the groove geometry.     

不锈钢在熔融NaCl中的电化学-化学-稀释模型

为分析不锈钢在熔融NaCl中的腐蚀机制,通过850℃熔融NaCl完全浸没实验,测量了168 h内3种不锈钢的腐蚀动力学曲线,借助SEM、EPMA、EDS等设备表征了试样横截面形貌、元素分布等特征,研究了Ti元素对合金耐蚀性影响机制,采用X射线衍射仪检测了腐蚀24h后熔融盐成分和168 h后试样表面成分,建立了电化学-化学-稀释联合作用腐蚀模型.结果表明:在熔融NaCl腐蚀介质中,金属材料作为阳极被溶解,吸附氧得到电子变成O2-作为阴极;金属阳离子与O2-在熔融NaCl中发生化学反应,生成易挥发性氯化物逃逸系统;熔融盐作为传质媒介,稀释腐蚀层区域的腐蚀产物浓度,提高腐蚀速度.合金中电极电位最负的微量组元优先溶解后形成微小孔隙,增大了微阳极表面积,加速腐蚀反应过程.     

Selective dissolution of austenite in AISI 304 stainless steel by bacterial activity

Selective attack in an AISI 304 stainless steel weld metal has been developed after three months in service in well water. Welding zones showed a severe corrosive attack that in some cases led to the steel perforation. Optical and scanning electron microscopy (SEM/EDX) revealed a selective attack. An in-depth analysis showed indications of microbiological activity which could be responsible of the severe attack.     

奥氏体铸体和18—8不锈钢在烧碱中的腐蚀行为

用失重法和电化学方法研究了奥氏体铸铁的１８－８不锈钢在高温烧碱中的腐蚀行为。用扫描电镜观察了两种材料泵件表面的腐蚀形貌,分析了奥氏体铸铁耐碱腐蚀性能优于１８－８不锈钢的原因。