Effects of Plastic Deformation and Recrystallization Treatments on the Stress Corrosion Cracking Susceptibility of 304 Type Stainless Steels under Different Polarizing Conditions in MgCl2 Solution

Abstract

Abstract Increasing amounts of prior plastic deformation are beneficial in terms of stress corrosion cracking SCC resistance under freely corroding conditions, while subsequent conventional heat treatments remove such beneficial effects. Under conditions of cathodic charging with hydrogen, the higher amounts of prior plastic deformation introduce some extra degrees of SCC susceptibility, especially after dynamic recrystallization heat treatments. X-ray studies showed that the SCC front, under freely corroding conditions in MgCl2 solution, proceeds by localized microplastic deformation along {111} and {200} austenite slip planes, stimulating the anodic dissolution process and being sustained by the hydrogen reduction reaction.