The effects of heat treatment on sulfide corrosion cracking of several martensitic and ferritic stainless steels were investigated. Sodium chloride solution saturated with hydrogen sulfide and containing acetic acid was adopted as corrosive medium. The results of this study may be summarized as follows:
1) With 410 steel, all of the specimens austenitized at 1, 150°C, followed by an oil quenching and tempered at various temperatures in the range from 300 to 800°C were cracked in one week or less, but the appearances of the crack varied with tempering temperatures as shown in Fig. 1. Cracking was of intergranular path with respect to the former austenite when tempered in the range from 550 to 700°C for short periods of time, but changed to transgranular with increase of tempering time.
2) With 430 and 7 Cr-Si-Al steels, fine cracks of limited length and blisters appeared in all of the specimens treated at 1, 150°C, followed by an oil quenching and annealed at various temperatures in the range from 300 to 800°C. Paths of crack are predominantly transgranular. But when the specimens are annealed in the range from 550 to 750°C, cracks are partly transgranular (in the ferrite grain) and partly intergranular (when encountered with former austenite grain).
3) 410 steels oil-quenched at 1, 300°C and annealed at various temperatures displayed a similar trend to that found in 430 and 7 Cr-Si-Al steels.
4) With 25 Cr-2.5 Ni steel, no cracking was observed during the 10 days test periods used.
5) Variations of mechanical properties with time of exposure to corrosive medium are described.
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