Introduction
This experimental study has been carried out to determine the corrosion behavior of Type 316 stainless steel when it is exposed to chloride solution, which is usually a substantial component of sea water. The inherent corrosion behavior of stainless steel takes place in two phases as demonstrated in the morphological evidence the test pieces. The initial phase entails induction process, and it is followed by a breakdown of passivity, which culminates in the active dissolution of the material. The corrosion experiment is based on an electrochemical technique whereby the seawater acts as an electrolyte medium, whereas the test pieces as electrodes.
Background
Engineering materials are subjected to various environmental conditions depending on the application in which it is utilized. Type 316 stainless steel is preferred in the most application where a part being manufactured is exposed to salty water. That notwithstanding, this material undergoes some level of corrosion which is being investigated in this experiment.
Materials Required for Corrosion Testing and Corrosion
• Type 316 Stainless Steel Nails
• Iron nails
• Artificial Sea Water
• Test tubes
• Test tube rack
Experimental Procedure
• Prepare a chloride solution and pour it into two test tubes
• Add a pinch of potassium hexacyanoferrate (III) solution to each tube
• Place the stainless steel in the test tube and secure it on the rack
• Leave the set up for two weeks
• Observe any change in color after every 24 hours
Results
The observation of color change will show that iron nails portray more change in color than stainless steel does.
Conclusions
It has been demonstrated that stainless steel is more resistant to corrosion than iron materials. This finding is in agreement with the data available in other literature materials from previous experiments (Cai et al. 3239).
Work Cited
Cai, Baoping, Liu, Yonghong, Tian, Xiaojie, , Hang Li, Fei Wang, and Renjie Ji. “An
experimental study of crevice corrosion behaviour of 316L stainless steel in artificial seawater.” Corrosion science 52.10 (2010): 3235-3242.
