The effect of prior cold work on the chloride stress corrosion cracking of 304L austenitic stainless steel under atmospheric conditions

A systematic study of the effect of cold work (CW) on chloride-induced stress corrosion cracking (SCC) in 304L stainless steel was performed. CW between 0% and 40% was applied prior to corrosion of specimens at 75 °C and 70% relative humidity, for 500 h, using MgCl2 (at atmospheric pressure). Samples cracked most readily between 0.5% and 5% CW; at 20% and above no cracks were present. Additionally, above 5% CW, some specific orientation relationships become evident, with cracks primarily aligned along <111> parallel to the transverse direction. The results suggest that at levels of CW >20%, the synergistic effect of micro-mechanisms may hinder SCC in this system.