Effect of Surface Roughness on Pitting Corrosion of 2205 Duplex Stainless Steel Investigated by Electrochemical Noise Measurements

The influence of surface roughness on the pitting corrosion behaviour of 2205 duplex stainless steel (DSS) in a chloride-containing environment was investigated using electrochemical noise (EN) techniques and morphology observation. A rougher surface condition increased the frequency of pit initiation because of the increase in more occluded pit sites. Rough surface finish also accelerated pit growth by increasing the actual dissolution rate in the pit. Metastable pits on rougher surfaces had longer lifetimes and grew to larger sizes, as their inner chemical environment was more easily maintained. However back-scatter images showed that pitting initiates on DSS 2205 regardless of the roughness condition.