Local corrosion of AISI 304 stainless steel in acidic chloride solution

AISI 304 austenitic stainless steel is recommended and used for various applications in industry, architecture and medicine. Presence of halides in environment evokes a possibility of the local corrosion which limits seriously exploitation of this material in aggressive conditions. The presented paper is focused on the pitting corrosion resistance (“as received” steel surface) in 1M chloride solution (pH=1.2) at a common (20 °C) and an elevated (50 °C) ambient temperatures. 24-hours exposure immersion test (ASTM G48) and cyclic potentiodynamic test (ASTM G61) are used as the independent test methods. The exposure immersion test is carried out with cross-rolled and longitudinally rolled specimens and the effect of direction of rolling on the resistance to pitting is studied.