effect of electro-slag remelting and homogenization heat treatment on corrosion resistance of low-carbon steels

daily increase in development of steel industry has raised the demand for higher quality products. to meet this, researchers have exploited various processing methods, one of the most important of which is electro-slag remelting (esr). the process is based on conversion of electrical energy to thermal energy through electric current flow in a slag layer with an appropriate chemical composition as well as suitable physical properties. the main cause of heat generation which results in remelting of steel in esr is electrical resistance of the slag against electrical current. corrosion resistance of steels are influenced by different factors specially the presence of any segregations or impurities. esr improves physical and mechanical properties of steels due to suitable solidification conditions as well as reduction of voids and inclusion contents. the aim of this work is to study the effect of esr and homogenization on corrosion resistance of low-carbon steels. therefore, prepared samples in this study are subjected to a polarization tests. after conducting the esr processes, steels showed a better corrosion resistance behavior as a result of the appropriate solidification condition and omission of the inclusions. to eliminate the banding segregations that are resulted after hot-rolling process, a number of samples were subjected to homogenization heat treatment under 1200°c for 2 h.