Effects of potential on the electrical conductivity of a solution within a crevice of stainless steel in high-temperature water

Soma, Yasutaka   ; Komatsu, Atsushi ; Ueno, Fumiyoshi  

The effects of electrochemical potential (ECP) on water chemistry within a crevice are of critical importance for understanding stress corrosion cracking (SCC) of Fe-Cr-Ni alloys in high temperature water. In this study, the effects of ECP on the electrical conductivity of a solution within a Type-316L stainless steel crevice () have been studied in 288C and 8 MPa water containing 10 ppb Cl as major anionic species. In situ measurements of in a rectangular crevice with a gap of 15 m and a depth of 23 mm have been conducted using small sensors installed at different crevice depths. An increase in ECP from -0.49 V (vs. standard hydrogen electrode) to -0.12 V resulted in an increase in from 12 Scm to 160 Scm at a distance of 21 mm from the crevice mouth. The increase in reached a maximum at about 0.15 V (about 300 Scm) and then tended to decrease with increasing potential. Finite element model analysis taking into account the electrochemical reaction quantitatively reproduced this behavior. It is considered that Cl is the major anionic species transported into the crevice at relatively low potentials, and that increases monotonically with increasing ECP. On the other hand, when ECP exceeds around 0 V, a sufficient amount of HCrO generated by transpassive dissolution also transported into the gap. Since this chemical species is highly oxidizing, unlike Cl, it is assumed that it reacts with metal cations to oxidize and precipitate them, thereby lowering conductivity.