Sulfide stress corrosion study of a super martensitic stainless steel in H2S sour environments: Metallic sulfides formation and hydrogen embrittlement

Thanks to their high corrosion resistance, super martensitic stainless steels are commonly used in the oil and gas industry, particularly in sour environments. Some grades are however susceptible to undergo hydrogen and mechanically-assisted corrosion processes in the presence of H2S, depending on the pH. The martensitic stainless steel EN 1.4418 grade exhibits a clear protective passive behavior with no sulfide stress corrosion cracking when exposed to sour environments of pH ≥ 4, but undergoes a steep decrease in its corrosion resistance at lower pH conditions. The present paper investigated this abrupt loss of corrosion resistance with electrochemical measurements as well as different physicochemical characterization techniques. Results indicated that below pH 4.0 the metal surface is covered by a thick (ca 40 μm) porous and defect-full sulfide-rich corrosion products layer shown to be straightforwardly related to the onset of hydrogen and sulfide mechanically-assisted corrosion phenomena.