A new large Type316L Stainles Steel hot potable water system had unexplained masivefailums. To find the source of the corrosion failure the following causes were insvestigated; biological effects, metallurgical variations, chemical influences, process influence, lab testing and field testing. This program consisted of consultants, vendors and an on-site testing program using actual conditions to determine the cause of the corrosion. This paper covers the investigation, summarizes the findings and suspected causes and proposes mechanism to explain why the stainless steel system failed as it did in such a seemingly benign environment.
Keywords: alloys, carbon dioxide, chloride ions, electrophorasis, hot water, pitting corrosion, stainless steel