Effect of strain level on corrosion of stainless steel bar

This paper presents an experimental investigation into the corrosion of stainless steel bar in the stressed state. By performing an electrochemical accelerated corrosion test on S11203 stainless steel bar under different strain levels and a tensile test on corroded stainless steel bar, effect of strain level on corrosion of stainless steel bar was investigated. The experimental results indicated that strain level affected the degree of corrosion of stainless steel bar. The higher the strain, the higher the degree of corrosion. The degree of corrosion of stainless steel bar under a strain of 1.0 × 10−3 was 9 percent higher than that of under zero strain. With increase of the degree of corrosion, the yield strength, ultimate strength and elongation of stainless steel bar gradually degenerated, and especially significant for the degradation of elongation. It was also found that the influence of strain level (≤1.0 × 10−3) on corrosion morphology and mechanical properties of stainless steel bar within 15% corrosion degree was not significant.