Abstract
We aimed to develop a Fe-($16{\sim}19$)Cr-($0.1{\sim}0.6$)Ti-($0.1{\sim}0.6$)Nb stainless steel for automotive exhaust parts with high corrosion resistance. The alloys with high Cr content showed high resistance to general corrosion and also localized corrosion. The increase of Ti and Nb contents resulted in a linear increase in the general corrosion resistance, while the pitting potential was improved by addition of these elements up to about 0.4 wt.%. The low-carbon Fe-17Cr-0.4Ti-0.4Nb alloy annealed at $850^{\circ}C$ and air-cooled was considered to be the optimum alloy for our purpose with the critical anodic current density of $247{\mu}A/cm^2$ in 0.05 M $H_2SO_4$ solution and the pitting potential of 310 mVSCE in 0.2 M NaCl solution.