Influence of Homogenization and Annealing Temperatures on the Microstructure, Mechanical Properties, and Passive Properties of Cold Rolled 2205 Duplex Stainless Steel

Abstract

The effects of homogenization, cold working, and subsequent annealing treatment were studied on the microstructural evolution, mechanical properties, and passive properties of duplex stainless steel (DSS). A hot-rolled 2205 DSS was subjected to two processing routes. In one, the DSS goes through an extra homogenization step at 1100 °C for 1800 s before cold rolling. After cold deformation (~75%) the specimens were isothermally annealed at 900, 1000, and 1100 °C for 180 s. The microstructure evolution was studied by optical microscopy (OM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XDR). Mechanical properties were evaluated by microhardness and tensile tests. The electrochemical behaviors were investigated by potentiodynamic measurements, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and Mott-Schottky analysis (MS). Chemical composition of the lowest corrosion resistant passive film was assessed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Homogenization before cold rolling lowered strain hardening, slowing the microstructural transformation process. The thermomechanical process did not change the semiconductor type of the passive films. However, grain refinement after annealing improved the corrosion resistance in borate buffer solution. Cold rolling significantly decreased the corrosion resistance. The passive film of the specimen homogenized before cold rolling had the lowest corrosion resistance and high amounts of Cr(OH)3 and FeO.