Effects of Cryogenic Milling on Stress Corrosion Cracking Resistance of AISI 316L Austenitic Stainless Steel

The stress corrosion cracking (SCC) susceptibility of 316L austenitic stainless steel milled with cryogenic cooling and conventional cutting fluid cooling is investigated and compared. The milled subsurface properties are characterized in terms of microstructure, residual stress and microhardness. The SCC susceptibility of the milled surfaces is evaluated in boiling MgCl 2 by examining the density and depth of the SCC microcracks. Results show that the cryogenic milling increases the SCC susceptibility of 316L austenitic stainless steel. The increase of SCC susceptibility is attributed to the higher residual tensile stress level and the larger volume fraction of slip band produced in the cryogenic milling process in comparison with the conventional cooling milling.