Application of the EPR technique in welded couplings in 08X18H10T (AISI 321) stainless steel

Stainless steel samples, one AISI 304 and the other 08X18H10T of Soviet origin (equivalent to AISI 320) were welded for the TIG method, submitted to a thermal treatment in order to its sensitization against the intergranular corrosion, then the samples were submitted to the EPR technique in order to establish the sensitization degree which is an indicative of susceptibility to intergranular corrosion. The result were corroborated by two different methodologies, the ASTM A262 standard and the soviet standard GOST 6032-89. The state of the tested surface was analyzed using optical microscopy in order to quantify the number of pricking since its presence disturbs the normalized charge, Pa. (Author)