Corrosion of duplex stainless steel SAF 2205 and its weldments in chloride medium containing sulphate reducing bacteria

Duplex stainless steels are materials of choice for industrial applications in the marine environment due to their high mechanical strength and their superior corrosion resistance compared to other stainless steel grades. Nevertheless, premature corrosion-related failures of these alloys and their weldments can occur, presumably due to imbalances in the microstructure of the alloy, microbiological activity, amongst others. Even though, these factors have been more extensively studied for common stainless steel grades, there is significantly less understanding of the corrosion mechanism affecting the duplex stainless steels in the marine conditions.