Effect of Structural State and Surface Finishing on Corrosion Behavior of 1.4970 Austenitic Steel at 400 and 500 °C in Flowing Pb-Bi Eutectic With Dissolved Oxygen

The effect of structural state (solution annealed (SA) and after 40% cold work (CW)) and surface finishing (turning, grinding, and polishing) on the corrosion behavior of austenitic 1.4970 (15-15 Ti) steel in flowing (2 m/s) Pb-Bi eutectic containing 10⁻⁷ mass% dissolved oxygen at 400 °C and 10⁻⁶ mass% O at 500 °C is investigated. At 400 °C for ∼13,000 h, the corrosion losses are minor for steel in both structural states and for surfaces finished by turning and grinding—a thin Cr-based oxide film is formed. In contrast, the polished surface showed initiation of solution-based corrosion attack with the formation of iron crystallites and preferential propagation along the grain boundaries. The depth of corrosion attack does not exceed 10 μm after ∼13,000 h. At 500 °C for 2000 h, the samples in both structural states showed general slight oxidation. Cold-worked steel underwent a severe groove-type and pit-type solution-based attack of 170 μm in maximum depth, while the SA sample showed only sporadic pit-type corrosion attack to the depth of 45 μm in maximum.