Arrest of weld-decay in 304 austenitic stainless steel by twin-induced grain boundary engineering

A twin-induced grain boundary engineered 304 austenitic stainless steel with a high frequency of coincidence site lattice boundaries produced by a one-step thermomechanical process was arc-welded. The heat-affected zone was examined by orientation imaging microscopy and corrosion tests. The results indicated that the intergranular corrosion due to sensitization in the heat-affected zone were perfectly suppressed, because the high frequency of coincidence site lattice boundaries and the optimum grain boundary character distribution were stable in the grain boundary engineered stainless steel during arc-welding. The grain boundary engineering can arrest the weld-decay of austenitic stainless steel effectively.