Influence of Cr, C and Ni on intergranular segregation and precipitation in Ti-stabilized stainless steels

Abstract

The influence of Cr, C and Ni on intergranular segregation and precipitation has been investigated with various Ti-stabilized stainless steels. TiC precipitates with Cr segregation were observed along the grain boundaries in ferritic and austenitic stainless steels with a carbon content of more than similar to 0.0060 wt.%, but not in ferritic stainless steel with extremely low carbon (0.0023 wt.%). Based on the results of the analysis, practices to avoid intergranular corrosion of Ti-stabilized stainless steels are proposed. (C) 2010 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.