Electrochemical potential noise of 321 stainless steel stressed under constant strain rate testing conditions

An investigation was carried out on the features of potential electrochemical potential noise of stressed AISI321 stainless steel in solution 0.5 mol/L Na2SO4 + 5 × 10−3 mol/L H2SO4 under constant-strain-rate-testing (CSRT) conditions. The results showed that the strained steel exhibited a white noise feature at low frequencies and the amplitude of potential fluctuation depended on elongation of the steel. Power spectral density (PSD) of the noise increased with increasing strain level. The noise level in the elastic region of the steel was relatively low, which increased with elongation. After the steel yielded, the electrochemical noise level became higher but it increased less significantly with increasing strain. In the fracture region, the potential noise reached the maximum level. In addition to the dependence of electrochemical noise on strain level, it was also found that the electrochemical noise level increased with increasing strain rate. To interpret the generation mechanism of electrochemical noise, a simple model was proposed based on an assumption that strain results in breakdown and repairing of the passive film on the steel. With this model, the dependence of electrochemical potential noise and its power spectral density on strain level and strain rate can be successfully explained.