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The microstructure evolution and its effect on corrosion properties of 18Cr-

12Ni-2,5Mo steel annealed at 500-900°C

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Acta Polytechnica Hungarica Vol. 11, No. 3, 2014

The Microstructure Evolution and Its Effect on

Corrosion Properties of 18Cr-12Ni-2,5Mo Steel
Annealed at 500-900°C

Mária Dománková, Edina Kocsisová, Ivan Slatkovský, Peter

Pinke
Institute of Materials Science, Faculty of Material Science and Technology in
Trnava, Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava, Bottova 25, 917 24
Trnava, Slovakia, e-mail: maria.domankova@stuba.sk, edina.kocsisova@stuba.sk,
ivan.slatkovsky@stuba.sk, peter.pinke@stuba.sk

Abstract: The process of the secondary phases precipitation controls the mechanical and
physical properties of the stainless steels. The process of precipitation and its influence on
corrosion resistance was analysed in the experimental steel AISI 316. The corrosion test
ASTM A 262 practice A was used for evaluation of the experimental steel to intergranular
corrosion. Results showed that the solution-annealed samples (1100°C/1h – followed by
water quenching) did not present susceptibility to intergranular corrosion. The heat
treatment in the range from 500 to 900°C resulted in susceptibility to intergranular attack.
Precipitation of carbide M23C6 accelerates sensitisation of the experimental steel.
Increasing of holding time cased precipitation -phase and carbide M6C, which were
detected at grain boundaries. Transmission electron microscopy was used for identification
of particles at the grain boundaries, measurement of their size and studied of their
morphology.

Keywords: austenitic stainless steel; precipitation; sensitisation; intergranular corrosion

1 Introduction
Intergranular corrosion (IGC) and stress corrosion cracking (SCC) of austenitic
stainless steels (ASSs) are the most important corrosion process that affects the
service behaviour of these materials. Austenitic stainless steels are the most
favoured construction materials of various components required in chemical,
petrochemical and nuclear industries. The selection of these is made basically due
to a good combination of mechanical, fabrication and corrosion resistance
properties. But austenitic stainless steels which have undergone treatment in the
temperature range between 500-900°C or have been cooled slowly from annealing
temperatures (1000-1200°C) become sensitised. The phenomenon of sensitisation

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M. Dománková et al. The Microstructure Evolution and Its Effect on Corrosion Properties
of 18Cr-12Ni-2,5Mo Steel Annealed at 500-900°C

in stainless steels refers to their susceptibility to intergranular corrosion resulting

from microstructural changes. Grain boundary chemistry is known to be a critical
factors impacting structural reliability of ASSs [1-3, 11-14]. If the chromium
content near the grain boundaries drops under the passivity limit 12 wt.%, the steel
becomes to be sensitised. In the sensitised condition, the steels are quite
susceptible to the intergranular corrosion (IGC) and intergranular stress corrosion
cracking (IGSCC) that can result in premature failures of the fabricated
components. The sensitisation temperature range is often encountered during
isothermal heat treatment, slow cooling from the solution annealing temperature,
the improper heat treatment in the heat affected zone of the welds or welding
joints or hot working of the material [4-6].
Degree of the sensitisation (DOS) is influenced by factors such as the steel
chemical composition, grain size, degree of strain or temperature and time of
isothermal annealing [5-7]. The sensitisation involves both nucleation and growth
of intermetallic phases at the grain boundaries. Sensitisation resulting from
isothermal exposure is normally represented by time-temperature-sensitisation
(TTS) diagrams, which are plots of aging time versus temperature necessary for
sensitisation. These are C - shaped curves, which separate sensitised and non-
sensitised regions. The TTS diagrams show the time required for isothermal
sensitisation at various temperatures and can be used to solve problems such as the
selection of conditions of annealing which will not result in sensitisation. The nose
of this curve specifies the critical temperature at which the minimum time (t min) is
required for sensitisation [13, 14]. The ageing reactions, nature of precipitates, and
precipitation kinetics during high-temperature exposure were studied in the past.
The weight fraction of carbides was often assess by dint of the usual
electrochemical dissolution methods, applied to austenitic stainless steels with
high carbon contents. The use of analytical electron microscopy has allowed the
chromium distribution at grain boundaries to be measured and it was possible to
compare these results with value predicted by different models [8].
However, in austenitic stainless steels except chromium also other alloying
elements may effect and change the precipitate consequention or kind of
precipitates. For instance Hull [9] investigated a great number of standard carbon
and nitrogen free iron-chromium-nickel alloys with regard to the alloying addition
influence on the precipitation of -phase and -phase at the temperature 816°C
and precipitation times up to 1000 hours. From the data obtained, he calculate the
chromium equivalent for the material embrittlement connected to -phase
formation:

Creqv  %Cr  0,31%Mn  1,7%Mo  1,58%Si 

(1)
 2,44%Ti  1,22%Ta  0,97%W  0,266% Ni  0,177%Co
In this research article, we report of the effects temperature and aging time on
sensitisation and precipitation of the secondary phases in AISI 316 stainless steel.

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Acta Polytechnica Hungarica Vol. 11, No. 3, 2014

2 Material and Experimental Procedures

Wrought austenitic stainless steel AISI 316 containing 1% of -ferrite was used
during the course of this investigation and its chemical composition is given in
Table 1. All samples were solution heat-treated at 1100°C/1 h. followed by water
quenching. The samples were heat treated at various temperatures from 500 to
900°C for duration range from 10 min. to 1000 h in evacuated tubes. The samples
were water quenched after the heat treatments.
Table 1
Chemical composition (in wt.%) of austenitic stainless steel

Steel C N Si Mn P S Cr Ni Mo Fe
AISI 316 0,05 0,032 0,47 0,86 0,003 0,001 17,55 11,56 2,10 Bal.

The specimens for light optical microscopy (LOM) examination were polished up
to fine diamond (~1m) finish. The specimens were etched chemically for 60 sec.
using solution: 10 ml H2SO4 + 10 ml HNO3 + 20 ml HF + 50 ml distilled H2O.
Then the screening of microstructures was done using a light microscope
NEOPHOT 32 equipped with the CCD camera.
The oxalic acid etch test was used for the determination of steel sensitivity to
intergranular corrosion. The specimens were electrolytically etched in 10% oxalic
acid for 90 sec. at a current density of 1 A/cm2. The etched microstructures were
then examined at 250x and were classified into the following types [10, 12, 14-
16]:
- step structure: steps only between grains, no ditches at grain boundaries,
- dual structure: some ditches at grain boundaries, but no single grain completely
surrounded by ditches,
- ditch structure: one or more grains completely surrounded by ditches and the
steel is classified as sensitised in this case. The steel is susceptible to the
intergranular corrosion.
For the individual secondary phase identification transmission electron
microscopy (TEM) of the extraction carbon replicas was utilised. The carbon
extraction replicas were obtained from mechanically polished and etched surfaces.
The replicas were stripped from the specimens in the solution of CH3COOH :
HClO4 = 4 :1 at 20°C, 20 V [15].
Thin foils suitable for transmission electron microscopy (TEM) observation were
prepared from each of the samples. Small discs of 3 mm in diameter and thick
about 0.1 mm were jet-electropolished in electrolyte HNO3 : CH3OH = 3 : 7, at
0°C and 15V to obtain transparent areas near the central hole. The jet-
electropolishing was done by TENUPOL 5.

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M. Dománková et al. The Microstructure Evolution and Its Effect on Corrosion Properties
of 18Cr-12Ni-2,5Mo Steel Annealed at 500-900°C

TEM observations were performed using JEOL 200 CX operated at 200 kV and
Philips CM 300 operating at 300 kV equipped with energy-dispersive X-ray
spectrometer (EDX), which was used for the microchemical analyses. The
analysis was supplemented by selected area electron diffraction for the phases
identification.

3 Results

3.1 LOM Observations

The results of the light microscopy (LOM) examination are summarised in Fig. 1.
The microstructure of AISI 316 after solution annealing consists of polyhedral
austenitic grains with twinning typical for fcc microstructure. The average
austenitic grain size in this state is about 35±5 m (Fig. 1a). A small amount of -
ferrite was also recorded. No precipitates were observed at the grain boundaries
(GB) of solution annealed steels. The microstructures of aged states are shown in
Fig. 1b-1d.

Figure 1
Microstructure of AISI 316 a) after solution annealing, b) after aging 750°C/1 h, c) after aging
750°C/300 h, d) after aging 750°C/1000 h

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Acta Polytechnica Hungarica Vol. 11, No. 3, 2014

Significant etching of grain boundaries was observed by LOM with increasing of

holding time at the temperature. This effect is caused by precipitation of
secondary phases at the grain boundaries. Fig. 1b shows the evolution of the
precipitation at the GB in the isothermally aged sample (750°C/1h). Fig. 1c shows
microstructure in the isothermally aged sample (750°C/300 h) and Fig. 1d shows
microstructure of the sample after the heat treatment 750°C/1000 h. The growth of
grains was observed in the case of this sample. The average austenitic grain size is
about 60±8 m (Fig. 1d).
The rapid oxalic acid etch test was used for analysis of the grain boundary
sensitisation development. Examples of microstructure obtained by etch test for
AISI 316 are given in Fig. 2. TTS diagram was obtained by plotting sensitisation
test results on a temperature versus log soaking time axes and drawing a line
which demarcates the sensitised and non-sensitised regions (Fig. 3). The nose of
this curve for the experimental steel AISI 316 was at the temperature 800°C and
tmin=20 min.

a b

c
Figure 2
Examples of AISI 316 microstructure obtained after oxalic acid etch test a) after solution annealing
(step), b) after aging 800°C/10 min. (dual), c) after aging 800°C/10 h (ditch)
Temperature (°C)

900

800

700

600

500

400
0,1 1 10 100 1000

log t (h.)
Figure 3
TTS diagram for AISI type 316 austenitic stainless steel established according to the test ASTM
A262 practice A

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M. Dománková et al. The Microstructure Evolution and Its Effect on Corrosion Properties
of 18Cr-12Ni-2,5Mo Steel Annealed at 500-900°C

3.2 TEM Observations

The TEM microstructure analysis was focused especially on the identification of
secondary phases, which precipitated at the grain boundaries during the annealing.
The changes of chemical composition and the relative size of particles were
evaluated. Fig. 4 shows the microstructure of AISI 316 in the solution annealing
state observed by TEM using carbon replica. The pure grain boundaries are
documented by the figures. Fig. 5 shows the typical GBs formed in an early stage
of the aging treatment (750°C/10 min.), only a few particles of secondary phase
were observed at the grain boundaries using TEM. As first M23C6 carbide at the
austenitic grain boundaries was detected (Fig. 6). Besides M23C6 carbide, -phase
and M6C carbide were detected at the grain boundaries. The density and size of
precipitates at the grain boundaries growth with increasing of the aging time (Fig.
7 and Fig. 8).

Figure 4
Microstructure of AISI 316 in the solution annealing state

Figure 5
Precipitation of M23C6 carbide at the GB – after aging 750°C/10 min.

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Acta Polytechnica Hungarica Vol. 11, No. 3, 2014

a
Figure 6
a) Detail of the grain boundary with particles of irregular shape after aging 750°C/5 h, b) particles were
identified by SAED as carbide M23C6

Figure 7
Precipitation of secondary phases at the grain boundary after aging 750°C/300 h

Figure 8
Precipitation of secondary phases at the grain boundary after aging 750°C/1000 h

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M. Dománková et al. The Microstructure Evolution and Its Effect on Corrosion Properties
of 18Cr-12Ni-2,5Mo Steel Annealed at 500-900°C

The change of the particles size during aging at the temperature 750°C is shown in
Fig. 9. The medium size of particles increased from 40 nm to 120 nm. The
maximum of the particles size was found at the temperature at 750°C with holding
time 30h. Subsequently the medium particles size decreased with increasing of
holding time. In our opinion decreasing of particles size was caused by the change
of phase composition in the experimental steel. Carbide M23C6 content decreased
and content of carbide M6C increased.

150
size of particles (nm)

125

100

75

50

25

0
1 10 100 1000
log t (h)

Figure 9
Growth of the particles in the experimental steel AISI 316 after aging at the temperature 750°C

Fig. 10 summarises the average metal composition of carbide M 23C6 after the
aging treatment at the temperature 750°C measured by EDX analysis. The
measurement of chemical composition shows the slight growth of the chromium
contain with increasing of the aging time.
100
Cr
90 Fe
chemical composition (wt.%)

Ni
80 Mo

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0,1 1 10 100 1000

log t (h)
Figure 10
Changes of the chemical composition of carbide M23C6 during annealing at the temperature 750°C

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Acta Polytechnica Hungarica Vol. 11, No. 3, 2014

Fig. 11 shows the changes of chemical composition of -phase during the

annealing at the temperature 750°C. The main element of this phase is iron, and a
slight increase in Fe content can be observed as a function of increasing aging
time. The changes of other elements were not significant. The changes of
chemical composition of the carbide M6C is shown by Fig. 12. The main element
of this phase is molybdenum. The significant changes of the chemical composition
of the carbide M6C during the annealing were not observed by EDX analysis.

100
Cr
chemical composition (wt.%)

90
Fe
Ni
80 Mo

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0,1 1 10 100 1000

log t (h)

Figure 11
Changes of the chemical composition of -phase during annealing at the temperature 750°C

100
Cr
90 Fe
chemical composition (wt.%)

Ni
80 Mo

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

1 10 100 1000

log t (h)

Figure 12
Changes of the chemical composition of carbide M6C during annealing at the temperature 750°C

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M. Dománková et al. The Microstructure Evolution and Its Effect on Corrosion Properties
of 18Cr-12Ni-2,5Mo Steel Annealed at 500-900°C

The changing fractions of identified secondary phases in steel AISI 316 during
aging at temperature 750°C are demonstrated in Fig. 13.
100
-phase
M23C6

abundance phases ratio (%)

M6C
80

60

40

20

0,1 1 10 100 1000

log t (h)

Figure 13
Fractions of the secondary phases in AISI 316 after aging at the temperature 750°C

Fig. 14 shows substructure of the experimental steel after solution annealing

observed using thin foils. The grain boundaries were pure without precipitates.
Fig. 15 shows details of the substructure after annealing 800°C/10 min – early
stage of the precipitation process. The small precipitates of irregular shape were
observed at some grain boundaries. EDX line analysis across the boundary (Fig.
16) did not show the change of the chemical composition between the matrix and
the grain boundary in the case of solution annealed state. Small decreasing of
chromium contain across the boundary was found by EDX line analysis across the
boundary (Fig. 16), but chromium content was sufficient to maintain of corrosion
resistance of experimental steel. Precipitation during heat treatment 800°C/10 min
did not cause sensitisation of the steel AISI 316. This results is in good agreement
with results of the rapid oxalic acid etch test and construction of TTS diagram
(Fig. 3), respectively.

Figure 14
Details of the grain boundaries in the experimental steel after solution annealing (line marked area
of EDX analysis)

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Acta Polytechnica Hungarica Vol. 11, No. 3, 2014

Figure 15
Details of the grain boundaries in the experimental steel after annealing 800°C/10 min (line marked
area of EDX analysis)

Figure 16
Changes of chromium contain in the area of grain boundary in the experimental steel after solution
annealing (SA) and heat treatment 800°C/10 min measured by EDX analysis

Conclusions
The precipitation behaviour of AISI 316 austenitic stainless steel has been
investigated in the temperatures range from 500 to 900°C for duration range from
10 min to 1000 h. The following conclusions were drawn:
1. TTS diagrams of experimental steel after oxalic acid etch test ASTM A262
practice A were constructed. The nose of this curve was at the temperature
800°C and tmin=20 min.
2. Sensitisation of the experimental steel accelerated the precipitation of the
carbide M23C6, besides carbide M23C6, -phase and carbide M6C were
detected at the austenitic grain boundaries (Fig. 12).

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M. Dománková et al. The Microstructure Evolution and Its Effect on Corrosion Properties
of 18Cr-12Ni-2,5Mo Steel Annealed at 500-900°C

3. The medium size of particles increased from 40 nm to 110 nm with increasing

of holding time during the heat treatment.
4. The measurements of the chemical composition of the secondary phases
showed slight increasing the main elements (chromium and iron) in the case
of the carbide M23C6 and -phase with increasing of the time annealing.
5. The small decreasing of chromium contain near of the grain boundary after
heat treatment 800°C/10 min was found by EDX line measurement, but the
chromium content was sufficient to maintain of corrosion resistance of
experimental steel.
Acknowledgement
The authors wish to thank the financial support of Scientific Grant Agency of
Slovak Republic (VEGA) under grant No. 1/0402/13
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