The surface characteristics of samples of the 2507 super duplex stainless steel with three different surface conditions, i.e. after hot rolling, annealing and blasting plus pickling, respectively, have been investigated. High resolution scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and scratch testing have been used to characterize the oxide scales with respect microstructure, chemical composition, and mechanical properties.
SEM and EDS-analysis of the oxide scales formed on hot rolled and hot rolled plus annealed samples, show an outer Fe-rich oxide layer and an inner Cr-rich oxide layer close to the interface. While the hot rolled oxide scale displays a relatively porous oxide composed of oxide particles, the hot rolled plus annealed oxide scale displays a more dense, “sintered”, microstructure, i.e. the high temperature during the annealing step promotes a densification of the oxide scale microstructure.
The outer porous Fe-rich layer shows poor cohesive strength and poor adhesion to the underlying Cr-rich layer. In contrast, the inner more dense Cr-rich layer shows strong adhesion towards the 2507 duplex stainless steel. The dense microstructure and strong adhesion of the inner Cr-rich layer is believed to significantly influence the blasting and pickling characteristics.