Optimizing the surface quality of heat-treated 2Cr13 stainless steel via electrochemical machining

Abstract

The improvement of mechanical properties and surface quality was of great significance for materials. In this study, 2Cr13 stainless steel was subjected to the quenching and tempering treatment. The electrochemical machining approach was adopted for surface treatment. The results showed that the quenching and tempering treatment improved the Vickers microhardness of 2Cr13 stainless steel. The enhancement of microhardness was facilitated by the formation of tempered sorbite and grain refinement. Electrochemical machining provided high quality surfaces. The heat-treated workpice had more advantages in electrochemical machining efficiency. The polarization curves proved a downward shift of the self-corrosion potential for the heat-treated 2Cr13 stainless steel, which was strongly related to the electrochemical behavior. A mechanism model for promoting anode electrochemical dissolution was proposed.