Crevice corrosion behavior of stainless steel in high temperature diluted seawater

The crevice corrosion initiation behavior of stainless steel was experimentally examined in high temperature test seawater (simulated diluted seawater) in order to confirm the effects of chemical species contained in seawater on crevice formation. Since crevice corrosion initiation is generally related to repassivation potential, the repassivation potentials of type 304 stainless steel (304 SS) were measured in test seawater at temperatures from 323 to 553 K. The repassivation potentials were measured in a Ti-Pd lined autoclave which was connected with a circulation loop, in conformity to Japanese Industrial Standards (JIS) G 0592. Overall, for high temperatures from 373 to 553 K, the repassivation potentials decreased with increasing chloride ion concentration in the test seawater, which was the same as the behavior observed at the lower temperature of 323 K. Regarding the effect of temperature, when the chloride ion concentrations were from 10 to 1000 ppm the repassivation potentials which were obtained at high temperatures were significantly lowered compared to those at 323 K. Furthermore, two characteristic features were observed at 553 K: the crevice corrosion initiation had the highest sensitivity and it was -0.24 Vvs.SHE at constant repassivation potential when the chloride ion concentration was more than 100 ppm. Even if the potential measurement error (∼0.05 V) was included in the measured repassivation potentials, it could be concluded that at temperatures from 323 to 553 K, the crevice corrosion of 304 SS can be suppressed by maintaining the potential below approximately -0.3 Vvs.SHE. (author)