Effect of surface mechanical attrition treatment on stainless steel corrosion

ABSTRACT

Surface mechanical attrition treatment (SMAT) is a unique method for the nanoscale refinement of a surface grain structure without changing the alloy chemical composition. Herein, the effect of SMAT on the corrosion resistance of 316L stainless steel in artificial sea water used as a corrosive medium has been investigated. As a result, a passive film and a nanostructured layer were formed on the SMAT-processed 316L stainless steel surface, which considerably increased its corrosion resistance during short-term testing. However, after a long-term exposure to the corrosive medium, the treated sample exhibited deterioration of its corrosion properties because of the micro-strain build-up and the presence of defects in the surface layer. The findings of this work suggest that SMAT can be potentially used for providing short-term corrosion protection to stainless steel objects immersed in aqueous saline media.

KEYWORDS:

• Surface mechanical attrition treatment
• stainless steel
• nanocrystalline structure
• artificial sea water

Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by the 111 Project of the University of Science and Technology Beijing under Grant number B12012 as well as by the Beijing Municipal Science and Technology Project under Grant number Z201100004520011.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by 111 Project of University of Science and Technology Beijing [grant number B12012]; Beijing Municipal Science and Technology Project [grant number Z201100004520011]; The Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities [grant numbers FRF-TP-19-012A1].