Microstructures and corrosion mechanism of AISI 304L stainless steel irradiated by high current pulsed electron beam

AISI 304L austenite stainless steel was irradiated by a high-current pulsed electron beam (HCPEB) source in different process. The microstructures were investigated in detail by electron microscopy. The relationship between corrosion resistance and the microstructures has been established. Our experimental results suggest that much abundant defect structures were formed within the irradiated surface which promoted the formation of a compact and thick passive layer during the process of corrosion experiment in simulated sea water. This passive layer effectively prevented corrosive anionic species from passing through the surface oxidation layer and delayed the corrosion process, leading to the improvement of irradiated materials’ corrosion performance. However, the craters on the treated surfaces may be turn into new active points on the metal surface which favored local pitting. Our experimental results demonstrate the potential of proper HCPEB processing for improving the corrosion resistance of metallic materials.