Influence of long-term low-temperature aging on the microhardness and corrosion properties of duplex stainless steel

Abstract An investigation was made of the influence of long-term aging (up to 7000 h) at low temperatures (300 and 400 °C) on the corrosion and mechanical properties of a 2205 duplex stainless steel. The selective corrosion behavior of austenite and ferrite phases was found to reverse in response to aging treatment at 400 °C. The degree of Cr depletion ( I r / I a ) increased considerably with the increase in aging time at 400 °C and no self-healing process was observed even after aging for 7000 h. A good correlation was observed between the electrochemical results and the microhardness of ferrite phase.