Uniform corrosion occurs when all, or at least a large section, of the passive layer is destroyed. This typically occurs in acids or in hot alkaline solutions. The influence of the alloy composition on the resistance to uniform corrosion may vary significantly between different environments. For guidance on material selection in a large number of environments capable of causing uniform corrosion, consult the tables and isocorrosion diagrams in the Outokumpu Corrosion Handbook.
Chloride ions in a neutral or acidic environment facilitate local breakdown of the passive layer. As a result, pitting and crevice corrosion can propagate at a high rate, causing corrosion failure in a short time. Since the attack is small and may be covered by corrosion products or hidden in a crevice, it often remains undiscovered until perforation or leakage occurs. Resistance to pitting corrosion is determined mainly by the content of chromium, molybdenum, and nitrogen in the stainless steel. This is often illustrated using the pitting resistance equivalent (PRE). The PRE value can be used for rough comparisons of different materials. A more reliable means, however, is to rank the steel according to the critical pitting temperature (CPT) of the material. There are several different methods available, for example ASTM G 150. The CPT values are shown in the table below. Higher contents of chromium, molybdenum, and nitrogen also enhance the crevice corrosion resistance of the stainless steel. Typical values of the critical crevice corrosion temperature (CCT) according to ASTM G48 Method F are included in the table below. The CPT and CCT values vary with product form and surface finish. The values given are for ground surfaces. Both ASTM G150 and ASTM G48 are methods for ranking the relative pitting or crevice corrosion resistance of the different stainless steels, but they do not give the maximum temperature for using these alloys in real service environments.
PRE Pitting Resistant Equivalent calculated using the formula: PRE = %Cr + 3.3 x %Mo + 16 x %N
CPT Corrosion Pitting Temperature as measured in the Avesta Cell (ASTM G 150), in a 1M NaCl solution (35,000 ppm or mg/l chloride ions).
CCT Critical Crevice Corrosion Temperature is the critical crevice corrosion temperature which is obtained by laboratory tests according to ASTM G 48 Method F