TP304L stainless steel piping with 0.22-inch (6-mm) thick ER/E316L field weld joints, tape wrapped and buried underground, developed large open cavities in the pipe outside surfaces, primarily in the base metal along the weld crown in less than nine months. Indirect evidence for MIC as the responsible corrosion mechanism is presented. What have been referred to as "MIC characteristics" in the literature have been reviewed and laboratory diagnostic procedures for MIC identification are discussed.

Subject
Pipe surfaces, Steel surfaces, Water, Piping, Metal surfaces, Base metals, Corrosion products, Welded joints, Rust, Pitting, Stainless steel, Microbiologically influenced corrosion, Samples
Keywords:
stainless steel, MIC characteristics, rust stains, subsurface cavities, preferential corrosion, dendritic corrosion, tunneling corrosion, faceted appearance, MIC diagnosis
© 2001 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).
2001
Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP)
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