Electrochemical corrosion behaviour of UNS S32205 duplex stainless steel dependent on sigma phase precipitation

Abstract In this study, the microstructure and electrochemical corrosion behavior of the UNS S32205 alloy were investigated. Firstly, the phase diagram of the studied samples was determined by Thermo-Calc 2022 software, and the solution treatment temperature was designated. The studied samples were cooled by various cooling rates following the solution treatment at 1050 °C for 30 min. The samples were characterized by optical microscope, scanning electron microscope, and XRD analysis. Also, electrochemical corrosion behavior was investigated by potentiodynamic polarization, cyclic potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy analyses. Microstructural examinations revealed that decreasing cooling rate causes the precipitation of the sigma phase, and the ratio of the sigma phase was increased up to 29 % by the decreasing cooling rate. Furthermore, it was determined that precipitation of the sigma phase reduces the E pit values, and the sample with the highest amount of sigma exhibits the lowest corrosion resistance. On the other hand, presence of the sigma changed the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy behavior of the UNS S32205 and double-layered model fit the results.