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Pitting corrosion is one of the most common mechanisms of local passivity breakdown on stainless steels. Electrochemical methods have preferentially been applied for the evaluation of pitting corrosion resistance of stainless steels in laboratory. Nevertheless, some of them are not reliable enough and in general the application of electrochemical methods in the field becomes difficult because of a required deep understanding of corrosion phenomena and measurement technology. A new approach for the evaluation of the pitting corrosion susceptibility of stainless Steel surfaces in the laboratory as well as in the field is frequently demanded by representatives of the metalworking industry. Therefore, the KorroPad-test was invented and patented as part of a research project at the BAM Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing in Germany.
Pitting corrosion is one of the most common mechanisms of surface damage on stainless steels. Electrochemical methods have been preferentially applied for the evaluation of the pitting corrosion resistance of stainless steels in the laboratory. Nevertheless, some of them are not reliable enough and in general the application of electrochemical methods in the field becomes difficult because of required deep understanding of corrosive phenomena and measurement technology. Therefore, new approaches for the evaluation of the pitting corrosion susceptibility of stainless steel surfaces in the laboratory as well as in the field are necessary. In the present paper two novel strategies including electrochemical noise measurements under anodic polarization for laboratory testing, and an indicator test to assess the susceptibility of stainless steel surfaces to pitting corrosion in the field are introduced. Experimental results concerning the influence of surface treatments on the pitting corrosion resistance on stainless steels have confirmed that final surface condition has a significant effect on their future pitting corrosion susceptibility. In addition, the pitting corrosion resistance of stainless steel surfaces was observed being specifically dependent on the achieved surface topography and in some cases independent on the roughness parameters of the surface.
In addition to constructional requirements in civil engineering stainless steels often have to fulfil high visual demands. Unexpected impairments of the visual appearance of stainless steels under low corrosive conditions are a widespread problem today. Frequently it is supposed that this is caused by changes in the alloy composition, worse environmental conditions or improper handling. Within a research project the systematic investigation of several cases of damaged stainless steel bars has shown that the reasons are based on well-known material defects like chemical inhomogeneities (e.g. precipitations or local carburization) or geometrical defects (e.g. undercuts, rolling defects or shell formation). Thus, the failures could be clearly identified as production failures of the respective semi-finished products.
In indoor swimming pools stainless steels are used not only due to structural and economic reasons but also due to aesthetic considerations. And therefore not only safety relevant load bearing components have to fulfil their tasks but also the visual appearance should be free of any staining. In a lot of cases basic requirements (e.g. design criteria, material selection and maintenance) being essential parts of technical regulations were not taken into account. Typical case studies with explanation of the cause of the corrosion problems and possibilities to prevent them are shown in the present paper.
Surface treatments usually are used to modify the appearance and properties of stainless steel surfaces. Simultaneously, the corrosion resistance of the stainless steel surface being related intrinsically to the spontaneous formation of a passive layer also will be affected. In this respect, the influence of different surface treatments on the corrosion resistance of Type 304 (UNS S30400) stainless steel to pitting corrosion has been evaluated by means of potentiostatic electrochemical noise measurements and surface characterization. Typical industrial treatments including mechanical grinding, glass blasting, and pickling were taken into account. Additionally, special consideration was put on the effect of aging conditions of the passive layer after surface treatments, in particular on the relative humidity. Benefits and limitations of the different applied surface treatments concerning protectiveness of the stainless steel surface were determined and discussed.
The presented investigations have proved the principal suitability of the KorroPad method to assess the passive layer stability of stainless steels. The electrochemical mode of action could be described in detail and limitations of the applicability have been demonstrated. The influence of different surface finishes has been investigated and verified by known methods for describing corrosion resistances. As a result, the increased corrosion susceptibility of two ground surfaces has been detected, but also the corrosion resistance of further surface finishes could be confirmed.
Due to the large number of stainless steels with different chemical composition and different microstructure the selection of the suitable material represents a huge challenge. In order to facilitate the appropriate grade selection, in the current European standard EN 1993-1-4 a procedure is defined based on the use of a look-up table considering the key variables that influence the selection of stainless steels. The table uses descriptions that competent designers should be able to readily understand or define without prior knowledge. The output from the look-up table is used to select alloys based on a Corrosion Resistance Class (CRC) from I to V. The advantage of this approach is that the designer simply specifies the relevant CRC and does not need to consider in detail which of the many (very similar) alloys to specify.
Mit Hilfe des KorroPad-Prüfverfahrens konnten verschiedene umgebungs- sowie prozessbedingte Einflüsse in Parameterstudien gezielt untersucht werden. So konnte der negative Einfluss von korundbasierten Schleifmitteln auf die Passivschichtausbildung nachgewiesen werden. Weiterhin konnte mittels KorroPad die Wirksamkeit verschiedener Oberflächenbearbeitungsverfahren bei der Schweißnahtnachbearbeitung untersucht und daraus Erkenntnisse für die Prozessoptimierung gewonnen werden. In den hier gezeigten Untersuchungen hat sich das KorroPad-Prüfverfahren für die Beschreibung der Passivschichtstabilität als hervorragend geeignet erwiesen.