Corrosion risk prediction of stainless steel structures

Stainless steels are extensively used as construction materials in various environments due to their good corrosion resistance.However, localized corrosion of stainless steel may cause unexpected material failures in environments that, according to their chemical compositions, should be harmless.One explanation for this is that the solution in contact with the material concentrates because of water evaporation or precipitation.The aim of this study was to develop methods and procedures to verify the localized corrosion risk of stainless steel in concentrated solutions.The pitting corrosion susceptibility of stainless steel UNS S30400 (AISI 304, EN 1.4301) was evaluated as a function of chloride and sulphate concentration at temperatures up to 40 oC.Special attention was paid to concentrated solutions that can form due to extensive evaporation and contain precipitates.Based on the experimental work a localized corrosion database for pitting corrosion susceptibility of EN 1.4301 stainless steel was created.A quantitative corrosion risk prediction approach is presented a