Elektropolieren von nichtrostenden austenitischen Stählen

Electropolishing of stainless austenitic steels. Electropolishing of pressure vessels made of clad steel surprisingly ran into considerable difficulties. A study revealed various reasons for the unsatisfactory polishing results achieved with stainless austenitic steels; e. g. nitride stabilizers lower the polish. The best results were obtained with steels having a low carbon content (C ⩽ 0.030%) when in the solution annealed state. This requirement is not fulfilled in the case of clad sheet. In such cases the C content must be limited to ⩽ 0.020% if a useful result is to be achieved at an economic price. Moreover, a sufficiently thick layer must be removed prior to electropolishing. A report of the study is accompanied by a description of the practical procedure and the theory of electropolishing.