The effects of electropolishing (EP) process parameters on corrosion resistance of 316L stainless steel

Improvement of the corrosion resistance capability of a workpiece being processed by the electropolishing (EP) is one of the most importance process characteristics. In this paper, the effects of the EP process parameters on the corrosion resistance performance of the SS 316L stainless steel were studied based on the uniform and localized intergranular corrosion (IGC) analyses. The IGC is the prominent characteristics of localized corrosion in stainless steel.

The workpiece (anode) material was the SS 316L stainless steel. The cathode material under study was platinum. The electrolyte was composed of sulfuric acid, phosphoric acid, glycerin and DI water. The test specimens were all polished before experiments in order to reduce the effect of the bailby layer. Variables of the EP process parameters gap between the electrodes and the process time.

The specimens were analyzed, first, by the surface roughness measurement. Secondly, they were observed under the optical microscope for surface marks and defects. It was followed by the linear polarization analysis for the uniform corrosion performance. The electrochemical potentiokinetic repassivation (EPR) test was employed to study the localized, IGC. Finally, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) analyses were conducted to analyze the metallurgical composition and the thickness of the passive film. The results showed that the EP process greatly improved the corrosion resistance of the SS 316L stainless steel.