Samples of 410 stainless steel were exposed to aerated and deaerated solutions of artificial sea water and distilled water, with and without packer fluid additions, with a CO2 atmosphere. Pitting rates were determined from autoclave exposures, and electrochemical parameters were obtained from potentiodynamic polarization curves.
The studies showed that in deaerated solutions, packer fluid had a mild inhibiting effect on liquid phase pitting in both seawater and distilled water. Packer fluid increased the rate of attack only in aerated solutions of distilled water. However, vapor phase pitting rates in uninhibited seawater, whether aerated or deaerated, are high enough to have caused the rates of attack observed in the field.
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