Comparative investigation of stainless steels used in drinking water distribution systems

Five stainless steel alloys were tested and compared to find a test method for the qualification of stainless steel used in drinking water systems. Determination of the pitting/critical potentials from the conventional cyclic polarization results was shown to be difficult when stainless steels have high Mo and Cr content. The electrochemical impedance data indicated that results received with the conventional methods do not necessarily reflect the steady state. The low frequency time constant determined from the impedance measurements showed that the anodic polarization should be conducted with very slow scan rate to get information about the mechanism. The steady state investigations were compared with the conventional electrochemical results to propose an electrochemical-based route as a standard qualification method. The qualification method was tested to be valid by a European round-robin-test.