Susceptibility of Type 304/304L and

316/316L austenitic stainless steels

to chlorides in cooling water
Allen Feltzin
Becht

B
oth 316 and type 304 (L is low carbon for weldabil-
ity) are susceptible, under certain conditions, to three
forms of attack in cooling water containing chlorides:
pitting, stress corrosion cracking (SCC), and crevice corro-
sion. Each of these have their own criteria in terms of chlo-
ride concentration, temperature, etc. where one or more of
these forms of attack may initiate and propagate. A brief
summary of each is given.
With specific regard to heat exchanger tubing, typical
wall thicknesses are 0.065” (16 BWG) or 0.049” (18 BWG)
with tube outer diameters 0.625” to 1.0”. Any scale forma-
tion on the tube wall (either inner or outer) exceeding the
design fouling factors will further elevate the temperature
profile and aggravate the effects of chloride corrosion.
Some deposits such as calcium carbonate have inverse (ret-
rograde) solubility, preferentially forming on hot surfaces.
Chlorides can concentrate underneath these deposits.

Critical Pitting Temperature (CPT)

The CPT is the lowest temperature where pitting can initi- Figure 1 Critical Pitting Temperatures vs. Chloride
ate. In Figure 1,1 it is shown that at a chloride concentra- Concentration Note: 0.01% chloride = 100 ppm
tion of 300 ppm, type 304 stainless steel has a CPT of
40ºC (104ºF). This is lower than most cooling water return Crevice Corrosion
temperatures in summer. Type 316 (with approximately A crevice is a very small gap such as at a tube-to-tube
2.5% molybdenum) has considerably greater pitting resis- sheet joint. Crevice corrosion can also occur under gaskets,
tance. At 500 ppm chloride concentration, the CPT of type
316 stainless steel is 70ºC (158ºF). A duplex stainless
steel such as alloy 2205 has even greater resistance to
pitting.

Stress Corrosion Cracking (SCC)

SCC refers to cracking in metals subjected to a corrosive
environment. For 316L stainless steel, Figure 22 shows that
the threshold temperature at 500 ppm chlorides is approxi-
mately 55ºC (131ºF).
Stresses may be residual, such as those from cold work-
ing or welding. Pits themselves also act as “stress risers”
and can initiate SCC. This could result in catastrophic
failure of a heat exchanger if large numbers of tubes fail
simultaneously.
Interestingly, there is no real difference between type 304
and type 316 stainless steel in terms of resistance to SCC,
which can occur even at very low chloride concentrations.
The threshold temperature for SCC for these alloys is 50ºC Figure 2 SCC Susceptibility Temperature vs. Chloride Ion
(122ºF) at chloride concentrations of > 100 ppm. Concentration

www.digitalrefining.com December 2022 1

seals, inside cracks, etc. For type 316 stainless steels, the References
critical crevice corrosion temperature (CCCT) is even lower 1 Fig. 1 North American Stainless: Long products stainless steel grade
than for pitting or SCC under similar test conditions and can sheet.
occur at temperatures as low as 28ºF.3 2 Fig. 2 Ibid.
3 Allegheny Technologies Incorporated ATI 316, ATI 316L, ATI 317,
Corrosion Comparison Between Hastelloy C 276 ATI 317L.
and 316L 4 Neonickel Technical Resources: A comparison between alloy C 276,
Hastelloy C has a CPT of 110ºC (230ºF) and a CCCT of Alloy 22, Alloy 59, Hastelloy, C 2000, and Inconel Alloy 656.
105ºC (221ºF) which is much higher than those for 316L.
There is also a number referred to as Pitting Resistance LINKS
Equivalent Number (PREN). For type 316 stainless, this
is 24 vs. 45 for Hastelloy C 276.4 Higher PREN’s indicate More articles from: Becht
increased corrosion resistance. Hastelloy C 276 is consid- More articles from the following categories:
ered suitable for use even in seawater. Corrosion and Fouling Control

2 December 2022 www.digitalrefining.com