Investigation into the surface quality and stress corrosion cracking resistance of AISI 316L stainless steel via precision end-milling operation

This study presents a two-fold investigation on precision end-milling of stainless steel (AISI 316L). First, the impact of end-milling variables (cutting speed and feed rate) on the surface quality (surface roughness, microhardness, and surface morphology) was analyzed. The best surface quality with surface roughness (Ra) 0.65 ± 0.02 μm was observed for cutting speed of 140 m/min and 0.025 mm/tooth of feed rate. Microhardness was increased with increment in cutting speed. Second, the impact of surface roughness (Ra) on the stress corrosion cracking under two different mediums, i.e., body solutions (Hank’s solution) and 1 M hydrochloric acid solution, was studied. The investigations showed that the samples with higher surface roughness values were more prone to stress corrosion cracking.