Mechanical-metallurgical-corrosion behavior of Cr-Si-S-C ferritic/ferromagnetic stainless steel, known as AISI 430F, before and after isothermal recrystallization annealing

The research investigates the mechanical and corrosion behavior of Cr-Si-S-C ferritic stainless steel (FSS), known as EN1.4105, which is equivalent to AISI430F. The static isothermal recrystallization annealing is applied to the cold-drawn (CD) materials with two different reduction rates (RRs) of 20 and 35%, under various conditions of soaking temperature and incubation time, which provide 42 unique specimens. The microstructures of CD and annealed materials are characterized by using the electron backscatter diffraction method. X-Ray diffraction analysis alongside scanning electron microscopy linked with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy are also employed to scrutinize the precipitation of any secondary phases, morphologies, and the related chemical compositions. Two different corrosive chlorinated and acidic electrolyte solutions are used for the potentiostatic-based corrosion tests to investigate the passivation kinetics. The results show that the higher RR, which provides faster recrystallization, results in a higher scale of non-hardenable materials. In addition, the effects of RR and annealing conditions are found to have an impact on the corrosion resistance. Moreover, the material exhibits varied behavior in terms of both passivation layer formation as the immersion in the sulfuric acid electrolyte solution (SAES) and active electrochemical behavior immersing in sodium chloride electrolyte solution (SCES). However, this material shows lower corrosion current density and higher corrosion potential in the SCES compared to the SAES medium. The comprehensive findings underscore the intricate relationship between reduction rates, annealing conditions, microstructural evolution, and corrosion behavior in this FSS. The observed trends provide valuable insights for optimizing material performance and corrosion resistance in practical applications. Graphical abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.].