Effect of prior cold work on the degree of sensitisation of welded joints of AISI 316L austenitic stainless steel studied by using an electrochemical minicell

Abstract

This work aims to assess the effect of prior cold work on the degree of sensitisation of each of the four welding zones of welded joints of AISI 316L subjected to post-welding sensitisation. Electrochemical potentiokinetic reactivation and double loop electrochemical potentiokinetic reactivation tests are performed on each of the four zones by using a small-scale electrochemical cell (minicell). The results show that the degree of sensitisation of heat affected zone, which achieves its maximum at a prior cold work level of 10%, is significantly lower than that of base material for a prior cold work of 20%. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.