Stainless steel weld attack - electrochemical corrosion testing

TWI Bulletin, January - February 1997

David Buxton has a BSc in Chemistry and Materials Science and a PhD on the subject of pitting corrosion and corrosion fatigue in a low alloy steel. He worked as a corrosion engineer before joining TWI's corrosion and analytical chemistry section of the Materials Department in 1995.

David Buxton reviews methods of electrochemical corrosion testing and discusses selection of techniques, specimen preparation, test cell design and methods for crevice corrosion testing. This, the first of two articles, covers testing of stainless steels and other corrosion-resistant alloys and coatings.

Throughout industry, significant resources are expended every year on selection of materials for corrosive environments. Tests are required to ensure correct choice for a particular set of service conditions, in order to avoid