Influence of temperature on corrosion resistance of austenitic stainless steel in cl⁻ containing solutions

Temperature is considered a complicated external factor of the susceptibility of stainless steels to the pitting. This paper deals with the corrosion behaviour of AISI 316Ti stainless steel in temperature range 22 - 80°C in aggressive chloride environments (3 and 5% FeCl₃ solutions). The corrosion resistance of tested steel is evaluated on the base of results of exposure immersion tests and cyclic potentiodynamic tests. According to the obtained results the resistance of AISI 316Ti to the pitting is markedly affected by temperature changes in the range 22 – 80°C. Intensity of corrosion attack increases with the rise of Cl⁻ concentration. Gentle changes of temperature and Cl⁻ concentration cause significant differences in character of local damage. The appearance of pitted surfaces changes with the rise of the temperature (a density of pitting increases, a size of pits decreases). The strongest change in appearance is observed between 40 and 50ºC.