Dissolution behaviour of stainless steel weld metals during active potential range: A calculational approach

Uniform or localised corrosion resistance of stainless steels is attributed to the presence of a tenacious passive film formed on the surface, the thickness and chemical composition of which depends on the applied potential. The protective properties of such films depend on the bulk composition of the alloy, presence of secondary phases and elemental segregation. In this paper the role of Cr, Mo and ferrite content on the anodic dissolution behaviour of type 316 austenitic stainless steel weld metals has been investigated. A calculational approach was tried in order to qualitatively understand the behaviour of the stainless steel weld metals with different chemical compositions and heat inputs. Extensive iterative calculations were carried out by using the experimental data on the anodic current values to arrive at the results.