Corrosion resistance of the AISI 304, 316 and 321 stainless steel surfaces modified by laser

Abstract

The article presents the analysis results of the influence of laser fluence on physical and chemical structure and corrosion resistance of stainless steel surfaces modified by irradiating with nanosecond-pulsed laser. The study was carried out for AISI 304, AISI 316 and AISI 321 substrates using Yb:glass fiber laser. All measurements were made for samples irradiated in a broad range of accumulated fluence (10400 J/cm2). The electrochemical composition (by EDX) and surface morphology (by SEM) of the prepared surfaces were carried out. Finally, corrosion resistance was analyzed by a potentiodynamic electrochemical test. The obtained results showed very high corrosion resistance for samples made by fluency of values lower than 100 J/cm2. In this case, higher values of corrosion potentials and breakdown potentials were observed. A correlation between corrosion phenomena, the range of laser power (fluence) and the results of chemical and structural tests were also found.