Intergranular corrosion (IGC)

The microstructure of metals and alloys are made up of grains, separated by grain boundaries.
Intergranular corrosion is localized attack along the grain boundaries,while the bulk of the grains
remain largely unaffected whether for intragranular corrosion the grain boundary material is retained,
since the corrosion proceeds preferentially within the grain.
Corrosion in or adjacent to the grain boundaries of the metal.
Can occur in most metals under unfavourable conditions.

Prevention
Methods to prevent or minimize the intergranular corrosion of susceptible alloys, particularly of the
austenitic stainless steels are as follows: OR
There are several ways to reduce susceptibility to intergranular corrosion.
These include: OR

Several methods have been used to control or minimize the intergranular corrosion of susceptible
alloys, particularly of the austenitic stainless steels.

1) Treatment at High Temperatures

The use of high temperatures, upwards of 1050*C, is an effective treatment because it precipitates
carbides; subsequent rapid cooling prevents their reformation.
1.) High-temperature solution heat treatment, commonly termed solution-annealing, quench-annealing
or solution-quenching, can been used. The alloy is heated to a temperature of about 1,060 to 1,120 C
and then water quenched. This method is generally unsuitable for treating large assemblies, and also
ineffective where welding is subsequently used for making repairs or for attaching other structures.
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1.) The High-temperature solution heat treatment, commonly called solution-annealing, has been

used. The alloy is heated to a temperature of about 1950 to 2050F and then water or air cooled.

2.) Another control technique for preventing intergranular corrosion involves incorporating strong
carbide formers or stabilizing elements such as niobium or titanium in the stainless steels. Such
elements have a much greater affinity for carbon than does chromium; carbide formation with these
elements reduces the carbon available in the alloy for formation of chromium carbides. Such a
stabilized titanium-bearing austenitic chromium-nickel-copper stainless steel is shown in U.S. Pat. No.
3,562,781.

2) Addition of Titanium or Columbian (Niobium)

Elements such as Ti and Cb have higher affinity for carbon, compared to chromium, meaning that
carbon will not diffuse across grain boundaries; instead of reacting with chromium, the carbon already
present at the boundary will react with Ti or Cb, instead of with Cr.
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2.)The same applies to steels stabilized with titanium (Ti) or niobium (Nb), since these types of steel
form niobium or titanium carbides instead of chromium carbides, thus avoiding the critical decrease in
the chromium content.
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2.) Another control technique for preventing intergranular corrosion involves incorporating

strong carbide formers or stabilizing elements such as niobium or titanium in the stainless steels. Such
elements have a greater affinity for carbon than chromium does. Carbide formation with these
elements reduces the carbon available in the alloy for formation of chromium carbides. Examples of
stabilized grades include 321H and 347H stainless.
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3.) A third option is the stainless steel have reduced carbon content below 0.03 percent so that

insufficient carbon is available for carbide formation. Many stainless grades have a low carbon
version, such as 304L and 316L. The low carbon is attractive to avoid sensitization, but lower carbon
versions have lower strength requirements.

Luckily many stainless steels are dual certified as

304/304L or 316/316L showing that they meet the low carbon limits of chemistry and the high
strength of the straight grade. In addition to meeting the strength and chemistry requirements it is also
common to see an intergranular corrosion test, such as ASTM A262 Practice E on the material test
report. This corrosion test starts with a sample that has seen temperatures within the sensitization
range and then submitted to a corrosion test.

This ensures that if the material sees elevated

temperature in service or during welding it shouldnt become sensitized.

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3) Reduction of Carbon Content
Although it adds an extra cost, the reduction of carbon content of steel will significantly decrease the
susceptibility to intergranular corrosion. This is because high carbon content is correlated with
intergranular corrosion of steel.

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Materials with less than 0.05% carbon normally have sufficient resistance against intergranular
corrosion after welding. ELC (extra low carbon content) steels, i.e. steels with maximum 0.030%
carbon, have very good resistance to intergranular corrosion.

3.Or the stainless steel may initially be reduced in carbon content below 0.03 percent so that
insufficient carbon is provided for carbide formation. These techniques are expensive and only
partially effective since sensitization may occur with time. The low-carbon steels also frequently
exhibit lower strengths at high temperatures.
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3.) A classic example is the sensitization of stainless steels or weld decay.Intergranular corrosion in
stainless steel as a consequence of Chromium Carbide formation when C concentration is too high and
an unfavourable heat treatment has occurred
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1. continue
SOLUTION
ANNEALING
HEAT
TREATMENT
PROCESS

Many stainless
steel castings
require either
solution
annealing
or
homogenizing
after the casting
process.
Homogenization is
commonly used on
precipitation
hardening stainless
steels like 17-4 and
15-5 to resolve alloy segregation and dendritic structures and homogenize the chemical
composition and microstructure. The temperature ranges for this process are often in excess of
2000F. ThermTech has the ability to run this process in some large open-fire furnaces that can
handle parts up to 46" wide x 42" high x 92" long.
Solution Annealing stainless steel castings is a process which takes the carbides that have
precipitated in the grain boundaries and dissolves then into the surrounding matrix. The
austenitic stainless steel castings are typically solution annealed at temperatures between 1900F
to 2100F and rapidly cooled to prevent a repeat of carbide precipitation in the grain boundaries.

Some alloys due to their low carbon content do not need a solution anneal due to carbide
formation, but benefit from a solution anneal to achieve maximum corrosion resistance.
Annealing
Work hardened metals can be made more malleable and ductile again by a process called
annealing.
The work hardened metal is heated to a temperature which is about half its melting point.
The grains within the structure re-crystallise into many fine grains. The temperature at which
the new grains begin to grow is called the re-crystallisation temperature. In the new
structure dislocations can move more easily. The metal therefore becomes softer and more
malleable and ductile.
When a metal is being shaped by cold working, it may be necessary to anneal it several times
during the process.
Hot working
When a metal is hot worked, it is shaped while it is above its re-crystallisation
temperature. In these circumstances, annealing takes place while the metal is worked rather
than being a separate process. The metal can therefore be worked without it becoming work
hardened. Hot working is usually carried out with the metal at a temperature of about 0.6 of its
melting point.
In hot rolling, the metal is forced between two rolls which have a narrow gap between them.
In forging, the metal is pounded by hammers or squeezed between a pair of shaped dies.
Quenching
Quenching describes the sudden immersion of a heated metal into cold water or oil. It is
used to make the metal very hard.
When is quenching used?
Quenching is usually used with metals that are alloyed with small amounts of other metals. At
high temperature the alloying metals are dissolved in the base metal. If the material is
cooled slowly, the alloy elements have time to precipitate out separately. If the metal is
quenched, however, the alloying metals are trapped within the crystal grains which makes
them harder. The precipitates also reduce the movement of dislocations which contributes to
the hardness of the material.
Quenching is an important process that is used in the production of steel cutting tools. Steel
used for this purpose contains nearly 1% carbon. (This is a high carbon steel).
What happens in quenching?
At a temperature of around 750 C, iron has a body centred cubic structure. This type of iron is
called ferrite. The carbon atoms can easily be held within this less tightly packed structure in
what is called a solid solution.
If the steel is cooled slowly, the iron ions rearrange into a face centred cubic structure called
austenite. The iron ions are more tightly packed in this arrangement and can't hold as many
carbon atoms within the structure. The remaining carbon forms a compound with iron
called iron carbide or cementite. Some regions of the material are therefore made up of layers
of ferrite and cementite. These regions are known as pearlite.
If the same steel is quenched rather than being cooled slowly, the carbon atoms do not have
time to form cementite. They are trapped within a frozen austenite structure in an

arrangement called martensite. Movement of dislocations is very difficult in this structure

so the metal becomes very hard and brittle.

EXPLANATION
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What is alloy sensitization?

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What alloys are prone to sensitization and how to avoid it?

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Sensitization refers to the precipitation of carbides at grain boundaries in a stainless steel or alloy,

causing the alloy to be susceptible to intergranular corrosion or intergranular stress corrosion cracking.
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Certain alloys, when exposed to a temperature characterized as a sensitizing temperature, become

particularly susceptible to intergranular corrosion. In a corrosive atmosphere, the grain interfaces of

these sensitized alloys become very reactive and intergranular corrosion results. This is characterized
by a localized attack adjacent to grain boundaries with relatively little corrosion of the grains
themselves. Once the area around the grains has corroded, the grain will literally fall out.
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The figure on the left is the normalized microstructure and the one on the right is the sensitized

structure and is susceptible to intergranular corrosion or intergranular stress corrosion cracking.

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Intergranular corrosion is caused by the segregation of impurities at the grain boundaries or by

enrichment or depletion of one of the alloying elements in the grain boundary. In the case of austenitic
stainless steels, when they are sensitized by heating to about 900 to 1500F, depletion of chromium in
the grain boundary occurs. This results in susceptibility to intergranular corrosion.