Abstract - Samples of high purity grade and commercial purity grade type AISI 304L and AISI 316L steels were studied by the potentiodynamic and potentiostatic techniques in a naturally aerated 3.5% NaCl aqueous solution at a controlled temperature of (23±2)°C. The anodic polarization curves of the potentiodynamic technique showed that not always is it possible to determine pitting potential: most of the curves of commercial purity grade steels displayed a smooth curvature in the region where the current density should increase sharply. The density current versus time potentiostatic curves also showed different shapes according to the purity grade steels: for the commercial purity grade steels, the current density showed large oscillations with time (related to unstable pits), whereas for the high purity grade steels, a regular behavior of current density as a function of time was found (related to stable pits)
Stainless steels; pitting corrosion; potentiodynamic; potentiostatic