Supermartensitic stainless steel (SMSS) is increasingly used in harsh environments due to its good weldability and mechanical properties at higher temperatures and high resistance to corrosion under stress. Applications in oil exploration demand a superior combination of properties and duplex and superduplex stainless steels have been widely applied in this area, despite their high costs. SMSS provides a technical and economical alternative for these steels. In this research, additions of Nb and Ti were made in order to minimize the sensitization effect and to promote grain refinement, studying the microstructural aspects and the pitting corrosion resistance in seawater. Pitting formation and evolution were accompanied by corrosion testing, optical and electronic microscopy. The Ti alloyed steel showed the best corrosion performance, with the greatest corrosion potential and the lowest pitting potential. The steel with Nb addition presented a higher corrosion potential than that of the steel without additions but had a lower pitting potential.
Corrosion; pitting; supermartensitic stainless steel; micro-alloyed
