Abstract :

Duplex Stainless Steels (DSS) Have Become One Of The Most Widely Utilized Engineering Materials In Offshore Structures, Petrochemical Plants, Desalination Facilities, Marine Transportation, Chemical Processing Equipment, Pulp And Paper Industries, And Nuclear Power Systems Because Of Their Unique Combination Of High Mechanical Strength, Excellent Toughness, And Superior Corrosion Resistance. Their Duplex Microstructure, Consisting Of Nearly Equal Proportions Of Ferrite (δ) And Austenite (γ), Provides Exceptional Resistance To Pitting Corrosion, Crevice Corrosion, Erosion-corrosion, And Chloride-induced Degradation While Maintaining Nearly Twice The Yield Strength Of Conventional Austenitic Stainless Steels. Despite These Advantages, Prolonged Exposure To Chloride-rich Industrial Environments Under Sustained Tensile Stress Can Initiate Stress Corrosion Cracking (SCC), One Of The Most Critical Failure Mechanisms Affecting Structural Reliability And Service Life. SCC Develops Through The Simultaneous Interaction Of Corrosive Chloride Media, Tensile Stress, And Susceptible Microstructures, Resulting In Sudden Brittle Failure Without Significant Plastic Deformation. Consequently, Understanding The SCC Behavior Of Duplex Stainless Steels Under Aggressive Industrial Conditions Has Become Increasingly Important For Ensuring The Safety And Reliability Of Critical Engineering Infrastructure. This Research Investigates The Stress Corrosion Cracking Resistance Of Duplex Stainless Steels In Chloride-Rich Industrial Environments Through A Multidisciplinary Experimental Approach. Commercial UNS S32205 Duplex Stainless Steel Specimens Are Exposed To Synthetic Chloride Solutions Representing Industrial Marine Conditions Under Controlled Tensile Loading. Electrochemical Characterization Using Open Circuit Potential (OCP), Potentiodynamic Polarization (PDP), Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS), And Slow Strain Rate Testing (SSRT) Is Combined With Optical Microscopy (OM), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Electron Backscatter Diffraction (EBSD), Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS), And X-ray Diffraction (XRD) To Analyze Crack Initiation Mechanisms, Passive Film Degradation, Phase Stability, Grain Boundary Characteristics, And Fracture Morphology. The Results Demonstrate That Optimized Duplex Microstructures With Balanced Ferriteaustenite Phase Distribution Exhibit Superior SCC Resistance Owing To Enhanced Passive Film Stability, Reduced Residual Stresses, Improved Crack Arrest Capability, And Excellent Resistance To Chloride-induced Localized Corrosion. The Findings Contribute Toward Improving Material Selection And Structural Reliability In Chloride-rich Industrial Applications.

Published:

21-4-2026

Issue:

Vol. 26 No. 4 (2026)

Page Nos:

3304-3319

Section:

Articles

License:

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

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