Phase instability and corrosion behaviour of AISI 316 P/M stainless steel

Abstract

Abstract The corrosion behavior of metal powder compacts of different densities made from AISI 316 stainless steel prealloyed powder, heat‐treated at different temperatures and times was investigated. Microcharacterisation of polished and fracture surfaces was performed by scanning electron microscopy. Energy dispersive X‐ray analysis was used to identify precipitated phases. The anodic and cathodic polarization curves in 1 N sulfuric acid were compared with those of a wrought alloy of similar composition. A distinct difference in the electrochemical behaviour of the powdermetallurgical and the wrought alloy was found. This was attributed to enhanced precipitation of intermetallic phases in the P/M‐alloy due to grain‐size and density factors.