Relationship Between the Electrochemical and Corrosion Behavior and the Structure of Stainless Steels Subjected to Cold Plastic Deformation

Abstract

The present investigation forms part of a systematic study about the influence of cold plastic deformation on the electrochemical and corrosion behavior of metallic materials, with the aim of determining and elucidating such aspects of their behavior and correlating them with the microstructural effects of the deformation, these being analyzed by metallographic and x‐ray techniques and by transmission electron microscopy. In this respect, the influence of cold plastic deformation on the electrochemical and corrosion behavior of two stainless steels (AISI 304 L and 316 L) in different aggressive media (with and without chloride ions) has been studied with reference to the following points: (i) deformation type, i.e., tensile stress, cold drawing, or cold rolling, and conditions, i.e., at room temperature and at −196°C; (ii) relative orientation of the exposed surface with the deformation direction, i.e., parallel and perpendicular; (iii) texture, defects, and martensite transformation.