High Temperature Degradation of Thermal Oxides on AISI 304 Stainless Steels by Carbon

AISI 304 austenitic stainless steel specimens are oxidised in laboratory air at 750 °C for 48 h. They are further subjected to the reduction test in carbon at 1350 °C for 30 and 60 min. The results show that the mass gain of the oxidised AISI 304 slighter increases to be 0.08 mg cm–2 after the reduction for 30 min and is unchanged at the longer reduction period up to 60 min. The oxide on AISI 304 is deteriorated after the reduction but its morphology tends to be unchanged when the reduction period is longer from 30 to 60 min. The results then indicate the superior performance of the AISI 304 to combat the corrosion under carbon at this high temperature.