Electrochemical Study of Welded AISI 304 and 904L Stainless Steel in Seawater in View of Corrosion

This is a comparative study of the corrosion behaviour of welds in AISI 304 and AISI 904L stainless steels carried out in seawater model solution in the temperature range 5-35°C and the standard of corrosion testing of welds was followed. The corrosion rate and corrosion attack characteristics were determined for welds of the examined steels with several type of treatment. The aim of this work was to compare the steels based on their resistance against the corrosion in terms of pitting potential (Epit) and repassivation potential (Erepass). Seawater is an electrochemically aggressive medium, which can initiate localised corrosion in welded stainless steels. Different electrochemical and testing methods were used, including cyclic voltammetry, chronopotentiometry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), pH measuring and penetration tests.