Corrosion behaviour of a thin section martensitic stainless steel GTA weldment in chloride solutions

A thin section martensitic stainless steel was welded by gas tungsten arc welding and characterized for the microstructure, hardness and corrosion behaviour in chloride solutions. Welds free from defects could be produced by autogenous welding under the optimized welding conditions. The weld metal was over-matched in terms of mechanical properties (hardness, tensile strength). The general corrosion resistance and the passivation behaviour of the weld metal/heat affected zone (HAZ) region were on par with that of the parent material in chloride and sulphuric acid test electrolytes; however, in terms of pitting corrosion resistance, the martensitic-structured weld metal/HAZ region was marginally inferior compared to its parent material.