Abstract
The improved depleted zone theory of intergranular corrosion, developed by Stawström and Hillert, has been applied to commercial austenitic stainless steels for predicting carbide precipitation kinetics and time required for the onset and termination of sensitization. There seems to be good agreement between experimental and theoretical results regarding carbide precipitation kinetics, but some discrepancies arise between experimentally determined and theoretically predicted desensitization times. In some cases, the S-H model predicts nonsensitization conditions, while the modified Strauss test shows a sensitized state; this discrepancy makes us question the reliability of the S-H model in predicting sensitization and self-healing times, particularly in the case of LTS and subsequent IGSCC.
