The effects of rolling temperature and sensitization treatment on the sulfide stress corrosion cracking of 304L stainless steel

The effects of rolling temperature (25 and 150 degrees C) and sensitization treatment (650 degrees C/1 h) on the susceptibility to sulfide stress corrosion cracking of 304L specimens were investigated. Regardless of the rolling temperature, the low hydrogen embrittlement (HE) susceptibility was associated with a high alpha'-martensite content and/or deformability near the notch-fractured location. In contrast, sensitization treatment increased the HE susceptibility of all rolled specimens. Additionally, cracks were observed only on the cold-rolled specimen in the U-bend immersion tests. The superior performance of the warm-rolled specimen in saturated H2S solution was confirmed by both notched tensile and U-bend immersion tests. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.