Output details
13 - Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Metallurgy and Materials
University of Oxford
A new approach for DL-EPR testing of thermo-mechanically processed austenitic stainless steel
The DL-EPR test is the standard method to rank the relative corrosion resistance of sensitised stainless steels; although quantitative, its reliability is affected by thermo-mechanical processing. A novel “grain boundary cluster” parameter is presented here. Obtained by post-corrosion image analysis, it describes the actual network of corrosion susceptible grain boundaries, in contrast to that assumed in the current standard. Importantly, the cluster parameter can be estimated from electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) analysis of the non-sensitised microstructure. The new method improves the reliability of the assessment of the relative degree of sensitisation of the austenitic stainless steels widely used in industry.