Cyclic polarization study of thick welded joints of lean duplex stainless steel for application in biodiesel industry

Abstract

Thick welded joints of UNS S32304 lean duplex stainless steel (LDSS) has been studied in acidified glycerin, a byproduct of biodiesel plants, using cyclic polarization technique. LDSS S32304 thick plates were welded by different processes commonly employed in the fabrication process: shielded metal arc welding, gas metal arc welding and flux cored arc welding. The electrochemical behavior of different weldment zones was characterized. Transmission electron microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used for sample characterization. SEM images showed that the heat affected zone was the most critical zone for pitting corrosion for all samples. The results were associated to the microstructural features of the materials. Generally, the breakdown potential of the top regions of welds was higher in acidified glycerin than the weld root for welds fabricated with two different filler metals. Basically, all the welded samples exhibited similar or higher corrosion resistance, compared with the corresponding base metal.