Pitting Resistance Equivalent Number

(PREN)
What Does Pitting Resistance Equivalent Number (PREN) Mean?
The pitting resistance equivalent number (PREN) is a measure of the relative pitting
corrosion resistance of stainless steel in a chloride-containing environment. The
pitting resistance of stainless steel is primarily determined by its composition. The
elements which have a significant impact are chromium, molybdenum, and nitrogen.
The formula, which quantifies their respective contribution, is:

PREN = 1 × %Cr + 3.3 × %Mo + 16 × %N

Higher PREN values indicate greater corrosion resistance.

The factor for nitrogen varies according to the source. Some variants of the equation
also include tungsten (W).

PREN values are useful for ranking stainless steel grades according to their pitting-
corrosion resistance. However, this comparison is only meaningful within the same
stainless steel family (austenitic, ferritic, duplex). PREN cannot be interpreted as an
absolute value.

A pitting resistance equivalent number may also be known as a pitting resistance

equivalent value (PRE-value).

Corrosionpedia Explains Pitting Resistance Equivalent Number (PREN)

The pitting resistance equivalent number (PREN) is a theoretical way of comparing the
pitting corrosion resistance of various types of stainless steels based on the chemical
compositions of an alloy. To improve the pitting corrosion resistance of stainless
steel, such alloying elements like molybdenum (Mo) and/or nitrogen (N) are added. To
help in the selection of an appropriate alloy for an application, an equation for the
pitting resistance equivalent number has been developed. The higher the PREN value
is, the more corrosion resistant the steel is.

Steels with PREN values above 32 are considered resistant to seawater corrosion.
Duplex steel with PREN values 40 or above is used in hydrogen sulfide environments. It
is standard in the oil and gas extraction industries. An exception is stainless steels
with molybdenum content equal to or above 1.5%; these may have a PREN value 30 or
more. In these cases the PREN value takes into account tungsten (W) in the alloy and
is defined with the formula:

PREN = 1 × %Cr + 3.3 ( %Mo + 0.5 × %W ) + 16 × %N

Selection of the appropriate stainless steel grade depends primarily on the
corrosiveness of the application environment and the application's mechanical
property requirements. When more than one alloy meets these requirements, other
factors that must be considered include:

 Physical properties
 Fabricability
 Availability
 Cost

PREN can change depending on the individual elements in the steel or alloy steel
composition.

Studies of corrosion failures of stainless steel have indicated that pitting and crevice
corrosion types are major problems, and together account for perhaps 25% of all
corrosion failures. One reason why pitting corrosion is so serious is that once a pit is
initiated there is a strong tendency for it to continue to grow, even though the
majority of the surrounding steel is still untouched.