Corrosion Failure Analysis of an Underground Stainless Steel Pipeline for Water Supply

The failure analysis of corrosion leakage of an underground stainless steel pipeline for water supply constructed by a company was performed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). The analysis results show that the chemical composition, mechanical properties and microstructure of the failure pipe were consistent with the standard requirements for S30408(06Cr19Ni10) stainless steel. The corrosion damage occurred on the inner surface of the stainless steel pipe initially. Pitting and intergranular corrosion caused by chloride ion were the main cause of the failure of the stainless steel pipe.