The electrochemical behavior for different surface conditions and different degrees of deformation of metastable austenitic stainless steel AISI 304 UNS S30400 were studied using critical pitting potential and electrochemical noise measurements. The influence on corrosion resistance by using different abrasives (silicon carbide and corundum) for surface finish by grinding is illustrated. For the characterization of local defects and surface topography, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and tactile measurements were used. An inverse correlation between occurrence of local defects on the surface and critical pitting potential was found by using image processing. Therefore, gray scale values of different surfaces were compared.

The influence of mass content of α’-martensite on the corrosion resistance is shown by comparing different qualities of surface finish. For smooth machined surfaces it can be shown that an increasing numbers of strain induced martensite is decreasing the corrosion resistance lightly. For low abrasive machining an inverse correlation between the critical pitting potential and surface roughness is given. However, for higher abrasive machining parameters, this correlation could not be found.

Key words: conference papers, 2017 conference papers, metastable austenitic stainless steel, critical strain, local defects, image processing