Effects of Grit Blasting and Annealing on the High-Temperature Oxidation Behavior of Austenitic and Ferritic Fe-Cr Alloys

Grit blasting (corundum) of an austenitic AISI 304 stainless steel (18Cr-8Ni) and of a low-alloy SA213 T22 ferritic steel (2.25Cr-1Mo) followed by annealing in argon resulted in enhanced outward diffusion of Cr, Mn, and Fe. Whereas 3 bar of blasting pressure allowed to grow more Cr2O3 and Mn x Cr3−x O4 spinel-rich scales, higher pressures gave rise to Fe2O3-enriched layers and were therefore disregarded. The effect of annealing pre-oxidation treatment on the isothermal oxidation resistance was subsequently evaluated for 48 h for both steels and the results were compared with their polished counterparts. The change of oxidation kinetics of the pre-oxidized 18Cr-8Ni samples at 850 °C was ascribed to the growth of a duplex Cr2O3/Mn x Cr3−x O4 scale that remained adherent to the substrate. Such a positive effect was less marked when considering the oxidation kinetics of the 2.25Cr-1Mo steel but a more compact and thinner Fe x Cr3−x O4 subscale grew at 650 °C compared to that of the polished samples. It appeared that the beneficial effect is very sensitive to the experimental blasting conditions. The input of Raman micro-spectroscopy was shown to be of ground importance in the precise identification of multiple oxide phases grown under the different conditions investigated in this study.