Electrochemical impedance and current fluctuations analysis during slow strain rate test of a UNS S30400 stainless steel in low pH media

This paper is aimed at investigating the electrochemical behavior of austenitic stainless steel UNS S30400 under stress corrosion cracking conditions in acidic solutions at room temperature. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and electrochemical current noise measurements were performed at different stress levels during slow strain rate tests at pH 0.00 and 1.00 in order to evaluate the influence of mechanical deformation on the evolution of the electrochemical responses of the interface. Results have shown that, differently to what happens at pH 1.00, the corrosive attack at pH 0.00 is characterized by intensive cracking concomitantly to the progressive spreading out of uniform corrosion on the metallic surface. The coupling of both electrochemical impedance and current noise techniques provided complementary information about the interplay between dissolution and cracking of the stainless steel exposed to electrolytes of different aggressiveness.