Investigation of corrosion of commercial grade AISI 316L stainless steel liner plates in desalination plant conditions
- King Fahd Univ. of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran (Saudi Arabia). Research Inst.
The corrosion of AISI Type 316L stainless steel (316L SS) liner plates in the flash chambers of a multistage flash (MSF) desalination plant, located on the Arabian Gulf coast was investigated. The 316L SS liner plates developed severe corrosion within six years of operation. This study was conducted to develop an understanding of the mode and causes of corrosion of the liner plates, and to determine the effect of heat treatment (annealing or heat effect during welding) and temperature of salt solution on corrosion of the liner plates. Specimens of the liner plates were studied in as-received (AR) condition and after being heat treated (HT) at 900 C in air and air-cooled to room temperature. Electrochemical techniques were used to measure the corrosion of the specimens. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) installed with energy dispersive (ED) X-ray diffraction capability was used for identification of compositional and structural changes in the specimens during heat treatment and corrosion. The results showed that: (1) Commercial grade 316L SS is susceptible to pitting, crevice and grain boundary corrosion under the operating conditions in the desalination plant. The heat-affected-zone (HAZ) had larger grains and corroded more severely than other parts of the liner plates. (2) The liner plates had randomly distributed inclusions containing Ti, Cr, Mo, Mn, and S in the structure. (3) Measurement of the corrosion rate. (4) Metallographic investigation of the AR and HT samples.
- OSTI ID:
- 83008
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-940222-; TRN: IM9533%%467
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: Corrosion 94: National Association of Corrosion Engineers (NACE) international annual conference, Baltimore, MD (United States), 28 Feb - 4 Mar 1994; Other Information: PBD: 1994; Related Information: Is Part Of Corrosion/94 conference papers; PB: 5005 p.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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