Effect of post-GBE strain on weld decay resistance of grain boundary engineered 304 austenitic stainless steel
AbstractWeld decay, a severe type of intergranular corrosion in the heat affected zone (HAZ), is a common and serious problem during welding of austenitic stainless steels. Grain boundary engineering (GBE) has been attracting attention as an effective method to prevent weld decay. Remarkably high resistance to weld decay has been reported for grain boundary engineered (GBEed) austenitic stainless steels. In practical applications, however, deformation and welding after the GBE process during manufacturing may alter the grain boundary character distribution and the resistance to weld decay. This study examined the effect of strain plus welding on the intergranular corrosion resistance in the weld HAZ of GBEed 304 austenitic stainless steel. The results show that the GBEed steel retained a much higher corrosion resistance than as received and non-GBEed steel during the same strain plus welding process, even though for both steels the corrosion resistance exhibited a gradual decrease with increasing strain.