Uniaxial plastic strain effect on the corrosion-fatigue resistance of ISO 5832-1 stainless steel biomaterial

•Pre-strain influences the corrosion-fatigue life of austenitic stainless steel.•Compression or tension plastic pre-strain produces a different effect.•In the absence of cyclic loading, localized corrosion does not occur.•No cyclic loading, so no localized corrosion, even with a more corrosive solution.•Cyclic loading triggers localized corrosion, shortening fatigue life. Orthopaedic implants are used for fracture stabilization or orthopaedic reconstruction. During implantation and even in the implant accommodation process, there may be plastic strain and induction of residual stresses. This information creates a test procedure involving pre-strain, pre-conditioning in the corrosive environment and corrosion-fatigue tests. Two solutions were used, PBS (phosphate-buffered saline, neutral pH, recommended for corrosion evaluation tests) and SHA (saline solution with hydrogen peroxide and albumin pH 3.0). The results showed that, differently from PBS, SHA promoted localized corrosion, reducing fatigue resistance in all tested conditions. In addition, plastic pre-strain influenced the failure process.