Review Reports

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The results on surface integrity and mechanical behavior discussed in your study make important contributions to understanding the behavior of AISI 304 steel in seawater environment. The correlation of the mentioned effects, especially with the effect of different application parameters on the results, can strengthen the place of the study in the literature.

(1) The lack of a significant difference in corrosion resistance between heat treated and untreated samples can be further compared with previous studies on the effect of heat treatment in the literature.

(2) An increase in corrosion resistance by reducing surface roughness by diamond burnishing (DB) has been reported, but the mechanism could be investigated in more detail.

(3) please consider the following studies. I hope they will help to improve the discussions.

"Review of Image Processing Methods for Surface and Tool Condition Assessments in Machining", "Surface modification of type 304 stainless steel with duplex coatings for corrosion resistance in sea water environments", "Surface Nanocrystallization and Improvement of the Mechanical and Tribological Properties of AISI 304 Steel Using Multi-Pass Nanostructuring Burnishing"

(4) The microstructural reasons for the decrease in fatigue strength can be detailed.

(5) It may be useful to relate the increase in wear resistance with DB to surface morphology.

(6) The microstructural effects of the wear mechanism can be discussed further.

Author Response

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Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Evolution of surface integrity characteristics and mechanical behavior of diamond burnished and turned AISI 304 steel specimens after prolonged exposure to natural seawater

In the presented study, the influence of aging in seawater on the surface integrity, microstructure, mechanical properties, fatigue strength and wear behavior. The samples prepared with two different finishing steps (fine turning and diamond burnishing) as well as the effect of an additional heat treatment are investigated and compared to an untreated sample. The investigated topic is meaningful and interesting. It is well-written and presented comprehensively and thoroughly. I recommend the publication after minor revision of the following points:

 

·         p.: 3, l.: 145 & p.: 4, l.: 153 & p.: 19, l.: 505: Please, keep the unit and the value together.

·         p.: 4, l.: 160: Please introduce the used abbreviations.

·         p.: 5, l.: 188: Please, check: it seems the font changed.

·         p.: 5, Table 1: Please introduce all used abbreviations. I guess, that AR stands for as-received (fine turned).

·         p.: 13, Figure 8: Does RC stand for the reference condition, what is the difference between RC and AR_A or T and AR_S or DB AR+DB_S or […]?

·         p.: 16, Figure 14 & Table 8: For an easier comprehension of the potential reader, I want to recommend that the authors include the errors of the residual stress states in the graphs rather than presenting them separately.

·         In general: The authors mostly present no error margins (Figure 5, Figure 7, […]). Are the values based on a single measurement? If not, could the author give the standard deviation and if so could the author indicate a confidence level?

·         In general: The authors give the label of the axis as “value, unit”, however, according to convention it should be labeled “value /unit”.

·         In general: In Table 1 and Figure 4, the authors introduce sample labeling, however, in the results and discussion section this labeling is not concisely used further.

·         In general: The authors conclude that an increase in dislocation density causes an increase in nucleation centers. However, no experimental evidence is shown. Did the authors observe a change in the breadth of the XRD signals that could back the reasonable estimation?

Comments for author File: Comments.pdf

Author Response

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Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 3 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

With the development of technology and the spread of sea navigation, the need to protect metals from corrosion became more and more urgent. In the 19th century, with the dynamic development of industry, research on the resistance of metals to the corrosive effects of sea water became more important. Today, despite the availability of advanced anti-corrosion technologies, the problem of the corrosive effect of sea water on metallic materials still remains significant.Marine structures, drilling platforms, and ships are constantly exposed to damage caused by the marine environment. High chloride concentrations, variable temperature and pressure conditions, and the presence of bioflora make anti-corrosion protection a key element in maintaining the durability of the structure. Innovative methods, such as ceramic coatings, corrosion inhibitors, and new metal alloys, are key to providing protection against the negative effects of seawater. And all of this is discussed in the introduction - the introduction - by the authors of this work. Additionally, they analyze the influence of surface quality and surface shaping methods on corrosion resistance, paying special attention to two technologies - fine turning (FT) and diamond burning (DB). The introduction is detailed, thematically focused on the discussed issues, the authors confirmed the interest in this topic among other scientists, citing 32 scientific sources.

  

Therefore, the topics addressed by the authors of this article are current and relevant, especially since the research they conducted is comprehensive.

 

I consider the description of the material used, the production and preparation of the samples, then the description of the experiment and the parameters of the strength and tribological tests to be correct. Additionally, the authors presented rich photographic documentation and provided the description of the experiment with legible graphics.

 

The results of the tests were beyond reproach. The authors presented the obtained results in a synthetic way, analyzing the change in the chemical composition of sea water, the change in mass of the samples, microstructure, roughness, microhardness, mechanical characteristics and fractures of the samples destroyed during the strength tests. All this, in addition to the verbal description, was documented photographically, and the data is legible and easy to interpret because it is presented in the form of graphs.

 

The conclusion is extensive and contains all the necessary conclusions regarding the conducted research. In my opinion, the authors should additionally conduct a discussion of the results based on the observations and results of research by other authors. Seawater has an undeniable effect on metallic materials, at the same time being a challenge and an incentive for further research and improvement of anti-corrosion technologies. Understanding this phenomenon allows us to better prepare for the consequences of the impact of seawater on metals. Valuable conclusions from the analysis of this problem in this article can contribute to maintaining the durability of marine structures and increasing safety in the area of metallurgical technologies.

Author Response

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Author Response File: Author Response.pdf