Comparative Study of Acoustic Emission Characteristics for Intergranular Corrosion of 316L Stainless Steel Parent Material and Weldment

The 316L stainless steel parent material and weldment specimens were made to carry out intergranular corrosion(IGC) test using the method of boiling nitric acid. During the corrosion experiment, the acoustic emission(AE) signals were collected. Through the comparative analysis of corrosion rate and metallographic structure, the results showed that the IGC of parent material and weldment can be divided into the preliminary corrosion stage and the rapid corrosion stage. The AE parameters and spectrum characteristics of the two corrosion stages of the parent material and weldment were analyzed. The results showed that: in preliminary and rapid corrosion stages, the AE signal amplitude and energy of weldment were higher than that of parent material; the spectrum characteristics of weldment was more abundant than that of parent material. Based on the results of the comparative analysis, the AE sources of parent material and weldment IGC and the possibilities of monitoring IGC using AE technique were analyzed.