Type 316L (UNS S31603) austenitic stainless steel piping was installed as part of a storm-sewer treatment collection system in a manufacturing facility. Within six months of start-up, leaks were discovered. Investigation (on-site current flow testing, visual inspection, water tests, and 5x/10x images etched in ASTM 89 reagent) supported the conclusion that the pitting in the austenitic stainless steel pipe was believed to be caused by damage to the passive layer brought about by a combination of MIC, high chloride levels, and high total dissolved solids. The low-flow and stagnant conditions present in the piping were primary contributors to the pit progression. Recommendations included replacing the pipe. Several alloys, nonmetallic materials, and lining materials were proposed for coupon testing to determine which would operate best in an environment with high levels of aerobic bacteria.

Although field corrosion tests had indicated that type 316L stainless steel would be a suitable material for neutralization tanks, the vessels suffered severe corrosion when placed in service. Welded coupons of type 316L had been tested along with similar Alloy 20Cb® (UNS NO8020) specimens in a lead-lined tank equipped with copper coils that had served in this function prior to construction of the new tanks. Both materials exhibited virtually no corrosion and no preferential weld attack. Type 316L was selected for the project. The subsequent corrosion was the result of the borderline passivity of type 316L in hot dilute sulfuric acid (about 0.1%). Inaccuracy of the testing was attributed to the presence of cupric ions in the lead-lined vessel fluids, which had been released by corrosion of the copper coils. Careful control of both temperature and pH was recommended to reduce the corrosion to an acceptable limit.

A type 316L stainless steel angled plate failed. The fatigue fracture was found to have occurred at a plate hole. Symmetric cyclic bending forces were revealed by the fatigue damage at the fracture edge at the top surface of the plate. Fatigue striations and slip bands produced on the surface during cyclic loading were observed. The material was showed by the deformation structure to be in the cold-worked condition and was termed to not be the cause of the implant failure.

A falling film black liquor evaporator consisted of flat twin plate heat exchangers and was used to increase black liquor solids content prior to its burning in the recovery boiler. Several plate heat exchangers were fabricated of AISI type 316L stainless steel by electric resistance welding. Cracks initiated at the inside surface of the welded areas and penetrated through the wall thickness. In several locations, the weld fractured and the plates separated with significant spring back, indicative of high residual stresses attributed to fabrication and weld procedures. The cracks had extended radially from the electric resistant weld into the base metal. Metallographic examination revealed the cracks were transgranular and branching, characteristic of SCC in austenitic stainless steels. The fracture surfaces had a brittle cleavage-like appearance, typical of SCC in austenitic stainless steels. Chlorides in the service environment were a contributory factor. The primary factor causing SCC localized at the electric resistant welds was substantial residual stresses as a result of fabrication procedures. It was recommended that the heat exchanger plates be subjected to stress-relief heat treatment following fabrication and welding.

Type 316L stainless steel pipes carrying brine at 120 deg C (250 deg F) and at a pH of about 7, failed by perforation at or near circumferential butt-weld seams. The failure was examined optically and radiographically in the field. Specimens were removed and examined metallographically and with a SEM in the laboratory. The examinations revealed a combination of failure mechanisms. The pitting failure of the welds was attributed to localized attack of an activated surface, in which anodic pits corroded rapidly. Additionally, SCC driven by residual welding stresses occurred in the base metal adjacent to the welds. Use of highly stressed austenitic stainless steels in high-chloride environments having a temperature above 65 deg C (150 deg F) should be discouraged. Solution annealing or shot peening to reduce residual stresses may be advisable. If heat treatment is not feasible after welding, the substitution of a more corrosion-resistant alloy, such as Incoloy 800 or 825, may be necessary.

Pressure testing of a batch of AISI type 316L stainless steel thermowells intended for use in a nuclear power-plant resulted in the identification of leakage at the tips in 20% of the parts. Radiography at the tip region of representative thermowells showed linear indications along the axes. SEM examination revealed the presence of longitudinally oriented nonmetallic inclusions that were partly retained and partly dislodged. Electron-dispersive x-ray analysis indicated that the inclusions were composed of CaO. Based on the overall chemistry of the inclusion sites, the source of the CaO was determined to be slag entrapment during the steel making process. It was recommended that the thermowell blanks be ultrasonically tested prior to machining and that the design be modified to make internal pressurization possible.

A type 316L stainless steel “Jewett nail” hip implant failed after 2 months of service. Fracture occurred through the first of five screw holes in the plate section. Microscopic examination of mating fracture surfaces showed that failure had initiated at the outside (convex) surface of the plate and proceeded through its thickness. The fracture morphology was characteristic of fatigue. A beveled area on the inside surface of the plate indicated that the implant had been fractured for some time prior to removal. Metallographic examination of samples cut from the plate section revealed a series of hidden repair welds on the inside surface of the plate in the vicinity of the fracture. Comparison of the microstructure in the area of the fracture with that in an area away from the weld indicated that the repair welding had resulted in the creation of an annealed, softened zone. Manufacturers should never attempt to salvage this type of critical device by welding or any other procedure that might compromise its integrity.

Upon arrival at the erection site, an AISI type 316L stainless steel tank intended for storage of fast breeder test reactor coolant (liquid sodium) exhibited cracks on its shell at two of four shell/nozzle fillet-welded joint regions. The tank had been transported from the manufacturer to the erection site by road, a distance of about 800 km (500 mi). During transport, the nozzles were kept at an angle of 45 deg to the vertical because of low clearance heights in road tunnels. The two damaged joints were unsupported at their ends inside the vessel, unlike the two uncracked nozzles. Surface examination showed ratchet marks at the edges of the fracture surface, indicating that loading was of the rotating bending type. Electron fractography using the two-stage replica method revealed striation marks characteristic of fatigue fracture. The striations indicated that the cracks had advanced on many “mini-fronts,” also indicative of nonuniform loading such as rotating bending. It was recommended that a support be added at the inside end of the nozzles to rigidly connect with the shell. In addition to avoiding transport problems, this design modification would reduce fatigue loading that occurs in service due to vibration of the nozzles during filling and draining of the tank.

Two type 316L stainless steel orthopedic screws broke approximately 6 weeks after surgical implant. The screws had been used to fasten a seven-hole narrow dynamic compression plate to a patient's spine. The broken screws and screws of the same vintage and source were examined using macrofractography, SEM fractography, and hardness testing. Fractography established that fracture was by fatigue and that the fatigue cracking originated at corrosion pits. Hardness while below specification, still indicated that the screws were in the cold-worked condition and notch sensitive during fatigue loading. Use of a steel with a higher molybdenum content (317L) in the annealed condition was recommended.

The interior surface of a type 316L stainless steel trailer barrel used to haul various chemicals showed evidence of severe pitting after less than 1 year of service. Two sections were cut from the barrel and microscopically examined. Metallographic sections were also prepared at the weld areas and away from the weld zones. Terraced, near-surface pits with subsurface caverns and a high level of sulfur in the pit residue, both indicative of bacteria-induced corrosion, were found. No evidence of weld defects or defective material was present. Testing of the water used at the wash station and implementation of bacteria control measures (a special drying process after washing and use of a sanitizing rinse) were recommended.

Ultrasonic cleaning is widely used in the production of medical devices such as guide wires and vascular implants. There are many cases, however, where cleaning frequencies have been close to the natural frequency of the device, producing resonant vibrations large enough to cause damage or premature failure. Several cases of ultrasonic cleaning-induced fatigue and corresponding failures of medical devices are examined in this review. Preventative measures to ensure that ultrasonic cleaning frequencies do not pose a threat are also provided.

Six cases of failure attributed to microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC) were analyzed to determine if any of the failures could have been avoided or at least predicted. The failures represent a diversity of applications involving typical materials, primarily stainless steel and copper alloys, in contact with a variety of liquids, chemistries, and substances. Analytical techniques employed include stereoscopic examination, energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS), temperature and pH testing, and metallographic analysis. The findings indicate that MIC is frequently the result of poor operations or improper materials selection, and thus often preventable.

Stainless steel is frequently used for bone fracture fixation in spite of its sensitivity to pitting and cracking in chloride containing environments (such as organic fluids) and its susceptibility to fatigue and corrosion fatigue. A 316L stainless steel plate implant used for fixation of a femoral fracture failed after only 16 days of service and before bone callus formation had occurred. The steel used for the implant met the requirements of ASTM Standard F138 but did contain a silica-alumina inclusion that served as the initiation point for a fatigue/corrosion fatigue fracture. The fracture originated as a consequence of stress intensification at the edge of a screw hole located just above the bone fracture; several fatigue cracks were also observed on the opposite side of the screw hole edge. The crack propagated in a brittle-like fashion after a limited number of cycles under unilateral bending. The bending loads were presumably a consequence of leg oscillation during assisted perambulation.

Several type 316L stainless steel wires in an electrostatic precipitator at a paper plant fractured in an unexpectedly short time. Failed wires were examined using optical and scanning electron microscope, and hardness tests were conducted. Fractography clearly established that fracture was caused by fatigue originating at corrosion pits on the surface of the wire. It was recommended that higher-molybdenum steel in the annealed condition be used to combat pitting corrosion.

A spiral heat exchanger made from 316L stainless steel developed a leak after eight years of service as a condenser on a distillation tower. Examination identified the leak as being located on the cooling water side in the heat affected zone (HAZ) of a weld joining two plates. Cooling water deposits were observed in a V-shaped corner formed by the weld. A metallurgical examination identified the presence of transgranular cracks in the HAZ on the cooling water side. Analysis of the cooling water revealed the presence of chlorides. Based on the metallurgical analysis and other findings, it was determined that the cracks and associated leak were the result of chloride stress-corrosion cracking.

Metallurgical SEM analysis provides many insights into the failure of biomedical materials and devices. The results of several such investigations are reported here, including findings and conclusions from the examination a total hip prosthesis, stainless steel and titanium compression plates, and hollow spinal rods. Some of the failure mechanisms that were identified include corrosive attack, corrosion plus erosion-corrosion, inclusions and stress gaps, production impurities, design flaws, and manufacturing defects. Failure prevention and mitigation strategies are also discussed.

An unacceptable degree of porosity was identified in several closure welds on stainless steel containers for plutonium-bearing materials. The pores developed in the weld tie-in region due to gas trapped by the weld pool during the closure process. This paper describes the efforts to trace the root cause of the porosity to the geometric conditions of the weld joint and establish corrective actions to minimize such porosity.

A compression hip screw is a device designed to hold fractures in the area of the femur in alignment and under compression. A side plate, which is an integral part of the device, is attached by screws to the femur, and it holds the compression screw in position. The device analyzed had broken across the eighth hole (of nine holes) from the end of the plate. The detailed metallurgical failure analysis of the device, including metallography and fractography, is reported here. It was found that the device had adequate metallurgical integrity for the application for which it was intended. It is believed that failure was caused by the lack of a screw in the ninth hole. Evidence is also presented which indicates that the device was bent prior to insertion, and the local plastic deformation may have caused structural changes leading to premature crack initiation.

This paper summarizes several cases of metallurgical failure analysis of surgical implants conducted at the Laboratory of Failure Analysis of IPT, in Brazil. Investigation revealed that most of the samples were not in accordance with ISO standards and presented evidence of corrosion assisted fracture. Additionally, some components were found to contain fabrication/processing defects that contributed to premature failure. The implant of nonbiocompatible materials results in immeasurable damage to patients as well as losses for the public investment. It is proposed that local sanitary regulation agencies create mechanisms to avoid commercialization of surgical implants that are not in accordance with standards and adopt the practice of retrieval analysis of failed implants. This would protect the public health by identifying and preventing the main causes of failure in surgical implants.

This article considers two mechanisms of cavitation failure: those for ductile materials and those for brittle materials. It examines the different stages of cavitation erosion. The article explains various cavitation failures including cavitation in bearings, centrifugal pumps, and gearboxes. It provides information on the cavitation resistance of materials and other prevention parameters. The article describes two American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standards for the evaluation of erosion and cavitation, namely, ASTM Standard G 32 and ASTM Standard G 73. It concludes with a discussion on correlations between laboratory results and service.