A new large Type 316L Stainless Steel hot potable water system had unexplained massive failures. To find the source of the corrosion failure the following causes were investigated; biological effects, metallurgical variations, chemical influences, process influence, lab testing and field testing. This program consisted of consultants, vendors and an on-site testing program using actual conditions to determine the cause of the corrosion. This paper covers the investigation, summarizes the findings and suspected causes and proposes a mechanism to explain why the stainless steel system failed as it did in such a seemingly benign environment.

Subject
Water, Materials, Piping, Ions, Tubes, Minerals, Acidity, Tubercles, Ion concentrations, Bubbling, Carbon dioxide, Stainless steel, Microbiologically influenced corrosion
Keywords:
alloys, carbon dioxide, chloride ions, electrophoresis, hot water, pitting corrosion, stainless steel
© 1997 Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP). All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of AMPP. Positions and opinions advanced in this work are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of AMPP. Responsibility for the content of the work lies solely with the author(s).
1997
Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP)
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