Pitting corrosion of cold rolled solution treated 17-4 PH stainless steel

•Effect of cold rolling on pitting of 17-4 PH stainless steel is investigated.•Cold rolling facilitates the transition from metastable to stale pitting.•The frequency of metastable pitting decreases with increasing cold working.•Cold working does not change pitting potential distribution significantly.

In the present paper the effects the of cold rolling on pitting corrosion of 17-4 precipitation hardening stainless steel in 3.5 wt% NaCl solution was investigated. In order to clarify the effect of cold rolling the metastable pitting has been examined in more details. The results presented show that cold rolling increases the dissolution rate of metastable pitting in a manner which facilitates the transition from metastable to stable pitting. On the other hand, the frequency of occurrence of metastable pits decreases with cold working. In overall, cold rolling has no significant effect on pitting potential.