Discussion
Both failure cases occurred after a short time of usage in water with low chloride content. Under
normal conditions, these types of water are not regarded as corrosive to the stainless steel types
EN 1.4301 or EN 1.4401. However in these cases, the water was stagnant most of the time and
only occasionally used. In stagnant waters with the possibility for deposit formation, the
corrosion resistance of stainless steels is clearly diminished. During long stagnant periods, the
stainless steel surface is not cleaned and bacterial activity may increase. The presence of bacteria
was verified for Case 2 and indications of bacteria growth were found also in Case 1. It is
generally accepted that the noble shift of the open circuit potential of stainless steels detected all
over the world in natural waters is caused by microbial colonisation. This ennoblement can
exceed the pit initiation potential even in low chloride waters. Usually the pit initiation potential
on the weld and on the heat-affected zone is lower than on the base metal. Therefore, pitting
corrosion starts often in these areas. Heat tint layers are also rich in iron and manganese oxides,
which might explain why harmful bacteria tend to attach to these areas as well. Ennoblement
alone cannot cause pitting corrosion. There has to be also some anions able to produce strong
acid solutions inside the pit. Chlorides are the most common anions causing pitting corrosion of
stainless steels by forming concentrated metal chloride solutions inside the pits. In typical pure
drinking waters having low chloride concentrations (6...30 mg/l) the pitting potential for stainless
steels at room temperature is very high (>1000 mVSCE). In our earlier study [3], the effects of
heat tints on pitting corrosion were examined in chloride solutions at room temperature. It was
shown that pits could initiate at substantially lower potentials in heat tint areas than in areas
without heat tints. However, the potentials required for continued growth of open pits in a dilute
(106 mg/l Cl) plain chloride environment were considered still quite high for serious pitting in
seemingly harmless environments to be explained by the presence of heat tints alone. In the
presence of sulphates, the needed amount of chlorides to initiate corrosion is even higher and is
depending on the molar ratio of chlorides and sulphates.