A team of engineers from ESAB Welding & Cutting ProductsÂ’ Process Centre in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, demonstrated that the pitting resistance equivalent number (PREN) value of duplex stainless steel alloys may lead to a misleading prediction of pitting corrosion resistance in the as-welded material. ESAB research results, published a technical paper in the April 2020 issue of Saudi Journal of Engineering & Technology, concluded that in the event of an imbalance of d (delta) ferrite and austenite volume fraction, the chemical composition of the phases may be very different from that of the alloy.
PREN values are a predictive measurement of a stainless steel’s resistance to localized pitting corrosion based on its chemical composition. PREN is frequently specified when stainless steels will be exposed to seawater or other solutions with a high chloride concentration.
