SEDL / STP / STP642-EB / STP28718S

Corrosion-Fatigue Behavior of Austenitic-Ferritic Stainless Steels

Moskovitz, JA
Research assistant and professor, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Mass

Pelloux, RM
Research assistant and professor, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Mass

Pages: 22    Published: Jan 1978

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Abstract

The corrosion-fatigue behavior of austenitic-ferritic (duplex) stainless steels, which combine high strength, good fracture toughness, and excellent corrosion resistance, is described in detail. The physical metallurgy of this class of alloys is reviewed so that the microstructure of different cast and wrought alloys can be understood in terms of alloy content, heat treatment, and cooling rate. The corrosion and stress corrosion cracking behaviors of duplex stainless steels are discussed and related to their corrosion-fatigue resistance. The results of recent work investigating the effects of various microstructural variables on corrosion-fatigue crack initiation and crack propagation in acidic chloride solution are described. The main structural variables are: volume fraction of austenite and ferrite, microstructural orientation of the different phases, embrittling intermetallic precipitates, and grain boundary carbides. An attempt is made to describe the microstructural features which will give the best corrosion-fatigue resistance in austenitic-ferritic stainless steels.