The influence of sunlight on the localized corrosion of UNS S31600 in natural seawater

Tests were conducted on the performance of UNS S31600 stainless steel (SS) in a natural day/night cycle vs full darkness under conditions of natural marine biofilm accumulation. In quiescent flowing seawater tests in the laboratory as well as under natural immersion in the sea, diffuse sunlight (∼10...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Biofouling (Chur, Switzerland) Switzerland), 2011-09, Vol.27 (8), p.837-849
Main Authors: Eashwar, M., Subramanian, G., Palanichamy, S., Rajagopal, G.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Austenitic stainless steels
Bacterial corrosion
Biofilms
Biofilms - growth & development
Biofouling - prevention & control
cathodic current
Circadian Rhythm
Corrosion
crevice corrosion
day/night cycle
Electrochemistry
Electrodes
Indian Ocean
Marine
Microorganisms
photoinactivation
photoinhibition
Sea water
seawater
Seawater - chemistry
Seawater - microbiology
stainless steel
Stainless Steel - chemistry
Sunlight
weldment
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Summary:Tests were conducted on the performance of UNS S31600 stainless steel (SS) in a natural day/night cycle vs full darkness under conditions of natural marine biofilm accumulation. In quiescent flowing seawater tests in the laboratory as well as under natural immersion in the sea, diffuse sunlight (∼10% of natural) counteracted the influence of marine biofilms and produced substantial inhibition of the corrosion of SS. Thus, the probabilities (percentage attack) and propagation rates (depths of attack) in multiple crevice tests were substantially lower in the day/night cycle than in the dark. A benefit was also observed for welded SS in terms of the time to corrosion initiation and the mass loss. SS in the passive state showed broader passive regions, well-defined breakdown potentials and markedly smaller anodic and cathodic current densities under the diurnal cycle. The overall reduction in corrosion is attributed to a combination of electrochemical photoinhibition and simultaneous photoinactivation of microbially mediated metal redox reactions linked to cathodic kinetics. These data offer fresh insights into the behaviour of SS under practical seawater situations and the proposed potential use of illumination in the mitigation of biologically influenced consequences.
ISSN:0892-7014
1029-2454
DOI:10.1080/08927014.2011.604924