Effects of Annealing and Post-weld Heat Treatments on Corrosion Behaviors of Super Austenitic Stainless Steel

The effect of two different annealing temperatures on the level of the second phase precipitated in the microstructure and the corrosion behaviors of super austenitic stainless steel were examined. The sample annealed at a higher temperature had a significantly lower fraction of the sigma phase enriched with Cr and Mo elements, showing more stable passivity behavior during the potentiodynamic polarization measurement. However, after the welding process with Inconel-type welding material, severe corrosion damage along the interface between the base metal and the weld metal was observed regardless of the annealing temperature. This was closely associated with the precipitation of the fine sigma phase with a high Mo concentration in the unmixed zone (UMZ) during the welding process, leading to the local depletion of Mo concentrations around the sigma phase. On the other hand, the fraction of the newly precipitated fine sigma phase in the UMZ was greatly reduced by post-weld heat treatment (PWHT), and the corrosion resistance was greatly improved. Based on the results, it is proposed that the alloy composition of welding materials and PWHT conditions should be further optimized to ensure the superior corrosion resistance of welded super austenitic stainless steel