SummaryPure AISI 316L steel is investigated after solution heat treatment (1050 °C/H 2 O) and structural sensitization (650 °C). Two quite different intergranular corrosion tests are used to determine the degree of structural sensitization due to the precipitation of secondary phases along the grain boundaries (mainly the M 23 C 6 and σ-phase): the oxalic acid etch test and the electrochemical potentio-kinetic reactivation test. Generally, the dissolution of chromium-rich carbides (M 23 C 6 ) is provoked by oxalic acid etch tests, whereas the chromiumdepleted zones, in the vicinity of chromium-rich carbides (M 23 C 6 ), are attacked by electrochemical potentio-kinetic reactivation tests. Both intergranular corrosion tests are used to determine the maximum degree of structural sensitization. Thus structural analysis by carbon replicas reveals the Laves phase, and both the M 23 C 6 and (Cr,Mo) x (Fe,Ni) y phases. The results of intergranular corrosion tests are related to the findings of the structural analysis.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.