Influences of Mo on stress corrosion cracking susceptibility of newly developed FeCrMnNiNC-based lean austenitic stainless steels

In this paper, newly developed high interstitial alloys, Febalance18Cr10Mn1Ni0.4N0.15CxMo (x = 0, 0.91, and 1.76 wt%), were briefly introduced, and susceptibility to stress corrosion cracking of the alloys was discussed based on slow strain rate test results and fractographic observation. It was found that the economical developed alloys exhibited superior mechanical properties and resistance to pitting corrosion to those of AISI 316L stainless steel. In addition, it was revealed that the addition of Mo ranging from 0 to 1.76 wt% affected tensile properties only in a limited manner, but it increased the resistance to the stress corrosion cracking of the alloys. The improved resistance to stress corrosion cracking was attributed to the enhanced pitting corrosion resistance and suppressed intergranular decohesion of the matrix by addition of Mo.