Preventing Localised Corrosion Using Thermally Sprayed Aluminium Coatings on Welded 25Cr Superduplex Stainless SteelAuthors: Q Lu M D F Harvey M F Gittos P Woollin and S PaulAbstractThermally sprayed aluminium (TSA 99.5%Al min) is an effective coating that has been used increasingly for the protection of carbon steel offshore structures topside equipment and flowlines/pipelines exposed to both marine atmospheres and total immersion conditions. The effectiveness of TSA coatings on 25Cr duplex stainless steel (SDSS) in preventing localised corrosion such as pitting and crevice corrosion has been investigated for subsea applications. Both uncoated welded 25Cr SDSS and surfaces coated with epoxy paint were also examined in the present work.Pitting and crevice corrosion tests on welded 25Cr SDSS specimens with and without TSA/epoxy coatings were conducted in recirculated aerated artificial seawater at 90°C for 90 days. The tests were carried out at both the free corrosion potentials and an applied CP of 1100mVSCE using a potentiostat. The pH of the test solution was monitored daily and adjusted to between 7.5 and 8.1 using dilute HCl solution or dilute NaOH depending on the pH of the solution measured during the test.The test results demonstrated that TSA provided sufficient protection to welded 25Cr SDSS to prevent pitting and crevice corrosion in artificial seawater at 90°C even when a 10mm diameter holiday was present.