Effect of niobium in the phase transformation and corrosion resistance of one austenitic-ferritic stainless steel

Austenitic-ferritic stainless steels containing 0.2% and 0.5% niobium were evaluated with respect to the microstructures, microhardness, pitting potential resistance, electrochemical impedance and wearing tests. Niobium is an alphagenic element and has a great influence on phase transformation of duplex stainless steels. In the present investigation, the samples were annealed at 1050 ºC and aged at 850 ºC to promote the formation of sigma phase. The pitting potential resistance and electrochemical impedance were evaluated in 3.5 % sodium chloride solution. The wear coefficients were calculat...