Corrosion Resistance Methods for Stainless Steel

304 grade stainless steel is known to be important in most structural applications due to its high mechanical strength, hardness, and machinability. It is considered a versatile steel that has good formability, can be welded as it is, and is non-magnetic austenitic structure. The corrosion resistance is also excellent at room temperature for most corrosive acids and alkalis. However, its corrosion resistance decreases at higher temperatures when exposed to water for prolonged periods of time. It is sensitive to pitting, crevice and stress corrosion cracking at elevated temperatures. In some cases, the resistance is improved by addition of corrosion inhibitor that negatively affects its formability and welding advantages. Therefore, other methods of corrosion protection are desired. This chapter provides in-depth review of corrosion protections materials and methods that have been used for protecting 304SS in different specific applications. It also provides systemic analysis of the potentiodynamic polarization method to compare the corrosion potential of different materials.