Study of Corrosion Resistance in Welded Joint of 316 Stainless Steel Valter Florencio, Wilson José Biguetti, Fabio dos Santos Silva, Márcio Fernando Thomas, Emmanuelle Sá Freitas

Abstract

In most applications, stainless steel is used due to its high resistance to chemical attack in different environments. Austenitic steels are subject to precipitation of constituents at the grain boundary that can cause one of the most severe types of corrosion, intergranular corrosion. During the welding process, the HAZ (heat affected zone) and the fused zone present changes in their structure and, sometimes, in the chemical composition of the welded joint, and thus can affect the corrosion resistance of the part. The present study consists of comparing the corrosion resistance of a welded joint and base metal in AISI 316 steel, and the possible loss of corrosion resistance due to the welding process, confirmed from the comparison of the anodic branches of the polarization curves.