Assessment of intergranular corrosion (IGC) in 316(N) stainless steel using electrochemical noise (EN) technique

In the present work, an attempt was made to demonstrate the use of electrochemical noise (EN) technique in assessment of intergranular corrosion (IGC) in 316(N) stainless steel (SS). Degree of sensitization (DOS) in the specimens aged at 923 K for 24, 40, 50 and 100 h was determined using double loop electrochemical potentiodynamic reactivation (DLEPR) technique. Immediately after applying a prior preconditioning treatment, current and potential noise measurements were made. The DOS was determined from standard deviation of current noise (σI) versus time plot and it was found to bear a good correlation with the values obtained by DLEPR. Shot noise analysis of the EN data confirmed the above results.