An Investigation on the Effect of Subsequent Heat Treatment on Mechanical and Corrosion Properties of the Austenitic Stainless Steel Plate Produced by TMAC

The purpose of the present paper is to investigate the mechanical and corrosion behaviors of an AISI 321 austenitic stainless steel plate produced by controlled hot-rolling and accelerated cooling (TMAC) route without and with subsequent annealing and stabilizing thermal treatments, based on ASTM A 240 and AMS 5510 standards. The subsequent experiments indicated the consistency of the properties of all the investigated specimens with standards requirements; however, the strength of the as-treated sample was much improved in comparison with the heat-treated samples. Furthermore, all three samples satisfied the standards requirements regarding the intergranular corrosion resistance, which was due to the precipitation of TiC carbides instead of Cr23C6 in grain boundaries. In addition, aging treatment at 600°C for 20 hours showed superior intergranular corrosion resistance. Finally, it was concluded that it is possible to benefit from the AISI 321 plate produced by TMAC route without subsequent heat treatment, in service conditions.