Effects of immersion in the NaCl and H2SO4 solutions

on the corrosion rate, microstructure, and hardness

of stainless steel 316L

Anugrah Budi Wicaksono, Hadi Sutanto, Wegie Ruslan

Online Publication Date: 20 May 2023

URL: http://www.jresm.org/archive/resm2023.695ma0220.html
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17515/resm2023.695ma0220

Journal Abbreviation: Res. Eng. Struct. Mater.

To cite this article

Wicaksono AB, Sutanto H, Ruslan W. Effects of immersion in the NaCl and H2SO4 solutions
on the corrosion rate, microstructure, and hardness of stainless steel 316L. Res. Eng. Struct.
Mater., 2023; 9(4): 1153-1168.

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Research Article

Effects of immersion in the NaCl and H2SO4 solutions on the

corrosion rate, microstructure, and hardness of stainless steel
316L

Anugrah Budi Wicaksono*,a, Hadi Sutantob, Wegie Ruslanc

Department of Mechanical Engineering, Atma Jaya Catholic University of Indonesia, Jakarta 12930, Indonesia
Article Info Abstract
Stainless steel is one of the materials with excellent corrosion resistance, so it is
Article history: widely applied in various fields such as the chemical industry, aerospace, power
generation, and biomedicine. The environmental condition (neutral, acidic, salty,
Received 20 Feb 2023 or basic) is the most important thing to be considered prior to choosing palpable
Accepted 16 May 2023 stainless steel materials. In this study, the corrosion behaviors of stainless-steel
type SS 316L under exposure immersions in salty and acidic environments using
Keywords: sodium chloride (NaCl) and sulfuric acid (H2SO4) solutions were investigated, by
referring to a standard method of ASTM G31-72. Scanning electron microscopy
Corrosion rate; (SEM) results revealed that the specimen in NaCl solution exhibited a darker
Stainless steel 316L; color, and relatively similar shape of cracks are observed. In contrast, the
Corrosive medium; specimen immersed in H2SO4 was observed to have a large diagonal crack. The
Microstructure; corrosion rate of SS 316L immersed in NaCl was lower with a value of 0.4260
Material resistance mpy, compared to that of H2SO4 which was 2.5141 mpy. The Vickers hardness
test showed that the hardness value of NaCl immersion was higher than that of
H2SO4, which was 6.34% and 1.94%, respectively. It can be concluded that the SS
316L is better used in a salty environment compared to acidic conditions,
because the main function of SS 316L is to be able to withstand rust, one of which
is caused by chloride compared to other types of stainless-steel.

© 2023 MIM Research Group. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Austenitic stainless steel is a common material that has good corrosion resistance,
excellent mechanical strength, low thermal expansion, lower process costs, and good
reliability [1]. Most manufacturing industries use this material as the primary material for
making their products. Stainless Steel AISI 316L (SS 316L) is one of the austenitic stainless
steel materials with excellent corrosion resistance, so it is widely applied in various fields
such as the chemical industry, aerospace, power generation, and biomedicine [2]. This
material is also recommended as a biomaterial due to its low carbon content, which
increases its corrosion resistance to chlorinated environments [3,4]. The passive
protective layer on the surface of SS material provides high prevention against uniform
corrosion in ordinary oxidizing environments but can induce localized forms of corrosion
under special conditions [5–7]. The existence of corrosive substances can lead to local
passivation degradation and dangerous pitting [8–10]. The exposure of austenitic stainless
steel 316L to the high temperature followed by slow cooling in air, such as, during welding,
is corresponding to their vulnerability to another type of localized intergranular corrosion.
In addition, low-chromium regions are the preferred pathways for crack propagation
under other localized corrosion attacks and tensile stresses [11,12].

Corresponding author: [email protected]

*
aorcid.org/0000-0002-5571-9448; b orcid.org/0000-0002-9632-5883; c orcid.org/0000-0001-5141-4615
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17515/resm2023.695ma0220
Res. Eng. Struct. Mat. Vol. 9 Iss. 4 (2023) 1153-1168 1153
Wicaksono et al. / Research on Engineering Structures & Materials 9(4) (2023) 1153-1168

This type of stainless steel is used in medical devices such as implants [13]. Moreover, the
high corrosion resistance of SS 316L provides by a thin chromium oxide film that has high
stability against corrosion [14,15]. However, this SS 316L material still has some
shortcomings; for example, when SS 316L is used as one of the materials for shipbuilding.
Marine vessels will come into contact with the marine environment, which contains
sodium chloride (NaCl) salt. Therefore this material often experiences pitting-type
corrosion due to exposure to seawater and through the deposition of salt in the air, which
has high humidity and high chloride concentration [16]. SS 316L is also sensitive to
chloride (Cl) compounds in the environment, affecting this material's corrosion resistance.
The presence of chloride compounds in the environment can corrode SS 316L and affect
its service life.
Recently, the relationship between extreme environments and the pitting corrosion
tendency of stainless steel materials has been the field of numerous investigations. Based
on the available literature, pH, temperature, and types of the environment play a critical
role in the corrosion susceptibility of stainless steel materials [17–19]. A combination of
pickling and passivation in aqueous solutions of hydrochloric and nitric acids has been
found to be the best choice for rust removal [20]. Several studies have reported the role of
MnS inclusions in initiating pitting corrosion in sensitized austenitic SS. Another study
compared the effect of different mechanical surface treatments on the pitting resistance of
sensitized SS 304 in a 3.5 wt% of NaCl solution [18]. Immersion method has been popular
to investigate the corrosion and durability property of stainless-steels. Lieth et al
investigated effects of heat treatment on different water condition i.e., sea water, fresh
water, and crude oil by immersion method. They found that the severe corrosion occurred
in the sea water at high temperature [21]. Another study by Ji et al found that the higher
the concentration of the mixed solution and the higher the test temperature, the greater
the corrosion rate of 316L stainless steel wire and the lower the breaking strength of 316L
stainless steel wire [22]. Adnan et al observed that heat treatment affects the corrosion
rate. The annealed sample showed the lowest corrosion rate, while the quenched sample
seemed to corrode more compared to the other samples [23]. Moreover, Reda and
coworkers have reported some important studies regarding the effect of several
environmental aspects on the microstructure of stainless-steel materials have been
investigated. They found that hydrogen caused the corrosion and alter the microstructure
of electroplated steel alloy 4130 by diffusion mechanism [24]. Next, they also found that
heating and solution treatment caused a hardening effect that improved the mechanical
and microstructure properties of aluminum-zinc alloy 7075 [25]. Similarly, the heating and
solution treatment has been employed on aluminum-copper 2024 alloy, which found that
the heating and solution treatment increases the mechanical properties of the steel by
short-distance diffusion coupled with precipitation mechanisms [26].
Several studies have been carried out to investigate the resistance of stainless steel
materials in solution treatments, including the corrosion rate and hardness of SS 304L in a
0.01M NaCl medium [27]. Improvement of corrosion properties of nanostructured SS 304L
in 0.6 M NaCl medium and the effect of incorporation of molybdenum Disulfide (MoS2) in
organic coatings on the corrosion resistance of stainless steel in 3.5% NaCl medium[28].
Furthermore, several other studies also discuss the resistance of 316L when immersed in
an H2SO4 medium, including the corrosion rate of SS 316L in an H2SO4 medium containing
the amino acid methionine [29] and the corrosion rate of SS 316L in an H2SO4 medium with
various temperature treatments [30].
According to the literature, it is reported that the environmental condition (neutral, acidic,
salty, or basic) is the most important thing to be considered prior to choose the right
stainless steel materials [8,20,31,32]. Nevertheless, the comparison study regarding the
corrosion properties of stainless steel, specifically SS 316L, under different conditions is

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extremely limited; thus, a comprehensive study that provides a comparison of different

environmental conditions on the corrosion behavior of stainless steel materials is urgently
needed. Therefore, in this study, the corrosion behaviors of SS 316L under exposure
immersions in salty and acidic environments using NaCl and H2SO4 solutions were
investigated. The ultimate goal of this study is to investigate the effects of acidic and salty
conditions on the corrosion behavior of SS 316L. The specimen of SS 316L was immersed
in NaCl and H2SO4 under the same condition, by referring to a standard method of ASTM
G31-72. The corrosion behavior was determined using the corrosion rate and mass loss
method. Microstructures of SS 316L of before/after exposure immersion experiment were
analyzed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Meanwhile, the chemical composition
of the specimen was analyzed using energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). The mechanical
properties of SS 316L before/after treatment were assessed using the Vickers hardness
test. Finally, the results of this study was expected to provide recommendations for
industry in selecting the right condition for a durable and corrosion-resistant use of SS
316L.

2. Materials and Method

2.1. Materials
A standard stainless steel 316L (SS 316L) plate was supplied from Bozhong Metal Groups,
China, which fulfilled the standard specification of SS 316L by ASTM A240 and JIS G4304.
The standard composition and mechanical properties of SS 316L that was used in this
study are summarized in Table 1 and standard mechanical properties of SS 316L are listed
in Table 2. Sodium chloride (NaCl, 99%), sodium hydroxide (NaOH, 99%), and sulfuric acid
(H2SO4, 98%) that were used for the immersion experiment were provided by Merck,
Germany. Deionized (DI) water was always used in chemical solution preparation and all
experimentation.
Table 1. Standard additive composition in SS 316L [33,34].
Elementals Composition (wt%)
C (Carbon) ≤ 0.03
Si (Silicon) ≤ 1.00
Mn (Manganese) ≤ 2.00
P (Phosphorous) ≤ 0.045
S (Sulfur) ≤ 0.045
Cr (Chromium) 16.0 – 18.0
Mo (Molybdenum) 2.0
Ni (Nickel) 10.0

Table 2. Standard mechanical properties of SS 316L [35,36].

Mechanical Properties Unit Value
Yield strength MPa ≥ 200
Tensile strength MPa ≥ 480
Elongation at break % ≥ 50
Hardness HV ≤ 180
2.2. Corrosive Medium Immersion Test
The corrosive medium immersion test was conducted by adapting a standardized method
of ASTM G31-72 [37]. This method is commonly used in the determination of laboratory
corrosion testing for metals. In this experiment, NaCl and H2SO4 were used as the
immersion medium that simply represented the salty and acid environments, respectively.

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Firstly, 100 mL of NaCl and H2SO4 solutions with the same molar concentration (0.017 M)
were prepared in a different compartment. After that, a rectangular shape of SS 316L was
prepared with a dimension of 20 mm x 10 mm x 2 mm and hanged with a inert rope [38,39].
Fig. 1 depicts the schematic representation of corrosive medium immersion test. The initial
weight of the plate was weighed using a precision analytical balance (Precisa Series 390,
USA) with an accuracy of 4 significant figure. Then, the SS 316L plates were immersed in
both solutions and were left for three days. After three days, the SS 316L samples were
taken from the solution and washed with DI water to clean the spent solution [37,39]. The
cleansed samples were dried in an oven for four hours until they were completely dried.
The samples were put into a desiccator before being weighed, which is noted as the final
weight after the corrosion test. Finally, the corrosion rate can be simply determined using
Eq. 1 [40,41].

CR =
(W − W )  K
i f
(1)

  A t
Where CR represents the corrosion rate (mils per year/mpy), Wi and Wf are the initial and
the final weight (mg) of the sample, respectively. K is a constant in the corrosion rate
equation (534), and ρ shows the density of the immersion solution (g/cm3). A is the total
surface area of the sample (cm2), and t is the time of exposure (h).

Glass
rod

Plastic
rope 5 cm

Solution
SS 316L
plate
5 cm

Fig. 1 Schematic illustration of corrosion immersion experiment

2.3. Characterization
Scanning electron microscopy (SEM, Thermo-Fischer Scientific, USA) was performed to
capture the surface morphology of the pristine SS 316L and samples after going through
the corrosion immersion test. This instrument can provide a surface picture of the samples
with some magnifications. To further understand the effects of corrosive medium
immersion on the chemical composition of the SS 316L, an energy dispersive spectroscopy
(EDS, Thermo-Fischer Scientific, USA) was used. This analysis can show the chemical
entities of the samples, which corresponds to the SEM images [42–44]. Therefore, some
new insights regarding the effects of corrosive medium immersion using NaCl and H2SO4
on the microstructure of SS 316L can be achieved.
2.4. Mechanical Strength Evaluation Using Vickers Hardness Test
Vickers hardness test method was used to evaluate the mechanical strength of the SS 316L
before and after corrosion immersion tests. The basic concept of this test is to test the

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hardness of the material with a stacker. The shape of this pounder is like a pyramid and is
made of square diamonds. The angle produced by Vickers's eye is 136°[45]. To describe
the hardness of the sample, Vickers hardness number (VHN) is used, as can be expressed
in Eq. 2 [46,47].
1.854  P (2)
VHN =
d2
Where VHN stands for Vickers hardness number (kg/µm2). P is the applied load (kg), and
d is the average diagonal length (µm).

3. Results and Discussion

3.1. Effects of Immersion in NaCl and H2SO4 on The Mass Reduction and
Corrosion Rate of SS 316L
Effects of different types of corrosive medium, which are salty and acidic conditions, on the
SS 316L sample were investigated. Table 3 summarizes the data regarding the mass
reduction and corrosion rate of SS 316L after being immersed in NaCl and H2SO4 solution.
According to Table 3, it can be seen that initially, the SS 316L samples had a mass of 2.9796
g and 2.9938 g before being immersed in NaCl and H2SO4 solutions. The samples were left
for 72 h to assess the corrosion process of SS 316L in salty and acidic conditions. After 72
h, it can be observed that the final weights of both samples are 2.9795 g for immersion in
NaCl and 2.9933 g for H2SO4. Hence, the weight difference can be simply computed by
subtracting the initial and final weights of the samples. It was found that the SS 316L
exhibited 0.0001 g of weight loss due to immersion in the NaCl solution. Moreover, the SS
316L possessed a more dramatic weight loss of 0.0005 g when the sample was immersed
in the H2SO4 solution. The occurrence of weight loss can be due to the reaction between the
dominant metal in the SS 316L, which is iron (Fe), and the corrosive solutions. The greater
mass reduction represents the greater loss of Fe that can be extracted from the body of SS
316L [48]. The sample that was immersed in H2SO4 exhibited greater mass loss. It is
explainable that the corrosion reaction in this condition occurs in two ways, namely, the
redox corrosion reaction between iron and oxygen and the direct acid leaching due to a
large number of H+ ions [49]. The reactions can be written as follows [48,50].
Redox reaction mechanisms;
Oxidation reaction:

Fe( s ) → Fe(2aq+ ) + 2e− (3)

Eo = +0.44 V
Reduction reaction:

O2( aq ) + 2H2O( aq) + 4e− → 4OH aq− Eo = +0.40 V (4)

Overall reaction:

2Fe( s ) + O2( aq) + 2H2O( aq) → 2Fe(2aq+ ) + 4OH(−aq) (5)

Eo = +0.84 V
Acid leaching reaction:

Fe( s ) + H2 SO4( aq) → 2H(+aq) + FeSO4( aq) (6)

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On the other hand, the sample that was immersed in NaCl solution seems to have a lower
mass loss compared to that of H2SO4. It is clearly due to the corrosion reaction that
occurred in the NaCl system being just the redox mechanisms (see Eq. 3-5); thus, the mass
loss due to corrosion is found lower. Corroboratively, the measured corrosion rate of the
SS 316L in H2SO4 is way much faster than that of NaCl, with the exact values of 2.5141 mpy
and 0.4260 mpy, respectively. The corrosion rate in H2SO4 is 5.9 times higher than that in
NaCl. Fortunately, the corrosion rate for SS 316L is still acceptable when it falls in the range
of 1 – 5 mpy, and when the corrosion rate is < 1 mpy, it is called exceptional [51,52].
Therefore, these results indicate that SS 316L is better used for equipment in a salty
environment compared to the acidic one.
Table 3. The mass reduction and corrosion rate of SS 316L after being immersed in NaCl
and H2SO4 solutions.
Type of Starting Finishing Duration Initial Final Weight Corrosion
solution date date (h) weight weight difference rate (mpy)
Wi (g) Wf (g) ∆W (g)
NaCl 2 5 72 2.9796 2.9795 0.0001 0.4266
September September
2022 2022
H2SO4 2 5 72 2.9938 2.9933 0.0005 2.5176
September September
2022 2022

3.2. Effects of Immersion in Corrosive Medium on The Surface Micromorphology

and Chemical Composition of SS 316L
Fig. 2 shows the SEM images and EDS spectra of pristine SS 316L without immersion
treatment. It can be seen that the surface micromorphology of the sample is quite uniform
without any sign of corrosion. Meanwhile, The SEM test on the sample of SS 316L that was
immersed in NaCl solution obtained a hollow structure in stainless steel as a result of
immersion for three days, as can be seen in Fig. 3. After experiencing treatment, the
material has defects in the microstructure of the material, which can further affect the
service life of the material’s properties. This also causes a reduction in the mass of the
material because cracks and degradation occurred on the surface. This was also reported
in a study, they explained that there were long depressions in the diagonal direction after
being immersed in the corrosive solution [53]. Moreover, another finding can be observed
in Fig. 2 that when stainless steel material is immersed in NaCl solution, some crystal
constituents were formed on the surface of the material. The circle image shown is the
form of crystallization that occurs when immersing SS 316L in NaCl solution. The type of
corrosion occurred in immersion into NaCl solution is uniform corrosion [54].
Moreover, SEM results also show that the corrosion that occurs on SS 316L when
immersed in H2SO4 solution possesses worse corrosion, with uniform defects observed on
the surface of SS 316L as can be seen in Fig. 4. Corrosion occurs almost all over the surface
of the specimen, and there are the same depressions and cracks, indicating that the type of
corrosion that occurs is a type of uniform corrosion [55–57]. Almost the entire top surface
of stainless steel formed new crystals and black spots. However, what distinguishes
between the immersion of the two solutions is the erosion of the material when immersed
in H2SO4 so that in general the hardness value of the specimen immersed in H2SO4 is much
lower than the specimen immersed in NaCl solution. Then, based on the results of EDS on
the test specimens showed that the percentage value of the Fe element was higher in SS
316L specimens immersed in H2SO4 solution than in SS 316L specimens immersed in NaCl.
specimen immersed in H2SO4 is much lower than the specimen immersed in NaCl solution
[37]

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Fig. 2 SEM images of the pristine SS 316L under magnifications of (a) 1000x, (b)
3000x, and (c) 5000x. (d) EDS spectra of pristine SS 316L

The chemical composition of pristine SS 316L and the immersed SS 316L samples in NaCl
and H2SO4 was analyzed using EDS. Table 4 summarizes the elemental composition of the
samples. It is found that the pristine SS 316L consists of 68.1, 16.5, 10.3, 2.9, 1.2, and 1.0%
of Fe, Cr, Ni, O, S, and Mn, respectively, which is in similar manner with previous studies
[33,34]. While for the sample that immersed in NaCl exhibited compositions of 66.9, 16.4,
10.3, 4.1, 1.2, and 1.1 wt% for Fe, Cr, Ni, O, S, and Mn, respectively. While the sample
immersed in H2SO4 solution exhibited compositions of 65.7, 15.6, 9.2, 6.5, 1.7, and 1.3 wt%,
for Fe, Cr, Ni, O, S, and Mn, respectively. Based on the results, it is found that the immersion
process reduced the Fe content and increased the oxygen content. This process followed
the corrosion reaction mechanisms as discussed perviously. It is also clearly observed that
H2SO4 caused worse corrosion on the main metals that constructed the SS 316L, such as
Fe, Cr, and Ni, compared to that of in NaCl solution. It can be due to a strong electrochemical
reaction between H2SO4 and the metals [58,59], as previously discussed in section 3.1. It is
also evident by the SEM images that a sample of SS 316L in H2SO4 exhibited more defects
in its microstructure compared to that of NaCl. The reduction content of constituent metals
can alter the mechanical strength of the SS 316L sample [60]. Therefore, it can be
concluded that H2SO4 caused more serious corrosion activity on SS 316L compared to NaCl.

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Fig. 3 SEM images of SS 316L sample after immersed in NaCl solution under
magnifications of (a) 1000x, (b) 3000x, and (c) 5000x. EDS spectra of SS 316L sample
after immersed in NaCl solution

(a) (b)

(c) (d)

defects

Fig. 4 SEM images of SS 316L sample after immersed in H2SO4 solution under
magnifications of (a) 1000x, (b) 3000x, and (c) 5000x. EDS spectra of SS 316L sample
after immersed in H2SO4 solution.

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Table 4. Chemical compositions of the SS 316L samples after being immersed in NaCl and
H2SO4 solutions.
Elementals Composition (wt%)
Pristine SS 316L SS 316L (NaCl) SS 316L (H2SO4)
Iron (Fe) 68.1 66.9 65.7
Chromium (Cr) 16.5 16.4 15.6
Nickel (Ni) 10.3 10.3 9.2
Oxygen (O) 2.9 4.1 6.5
Sulfur (S) 1.2 1.2 1.7
Manganese (Mn) 1.0 1.1 1.3
3.3. Effects of Immersion in Corrosive Medium on The Hardness Level of SS
316L
Effects of immersion in NaCl and H2SO4 solutions on the mechanical strength of SS 316L
were assessed through the Vickers hardness test. Fig. 5 shows the results of Vickers
hardness numbers (VHN) for three samples, namely pristine SS 316L, SS 316L (H2SO4),
and SS 316L (NaCl). It can be seen that the pristine SS 316L exhibited a VHN of 159.3 ± 1.32
kg/µm2. The immersed products showed VHN numbers of 169.4 ± 0.52 kg/µm2 for SS 316L
(NaCl) and 162.4 ± 0.47 kg/µm2 for SS 316L (H2SO4). It is found that the immersed samples
have higher VHN values compared to the pristine SS 316L. It is explainable by the
formation of a brittle surface of SS 316L due to the corrosion reactions on the surface. This
corroded surface attributes more brittle property due to the oxidation, thus, the immersed
samples attributed higher VHN values [61,62]. The HV value increased by 6.34% for
materials soaked in NaCl solution, and the value obtained from materials soaked in H 2SO4
solution increased by 1.94%. Moreover, the SS 316L sample from the NaCl solution has a
slightly higher VHN than that of H2SO4.
180
Vickers Hardness Level (kg/mm2)

175

170

165

160

155

150
Pristine SS 316L SS 316L (NaCl) SS 316L (H2SO4)
Type of sample

Fig. 5 Results of the hardness of the tested SS 316L samples.

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The defect-free corrosion surface can be attributed to enhancing the mechanical strength
of the SS 316L sample in NaCl. The generated crystals on the surface of SS 316L can also
provide higher mechanical strength [59,63]. The hardness value of SS 316L increased by
6.34% for those immersed in NaCl solution. Therefore, SS 316L itself is widely used for the
manufacture of equipment that is in direct contact with salt solutions because the main
function of SS 316L is to be able to withstand rust, one of which is caused by chloride [64].
3.4. Effect of pH Variations
Effect of pH variations on the corrosion rate and hardness of the immersed SS 316L was
investigated and the results are depicted on Fig. 6. Based on Fig. 6 it can be seen that the
corrosion rate of SS 316L decreased significantly with a rise of pH. pH of solution was
controlled using NaOH and H2SO4. Sample of SS 316L at lowest pH of 1 experienced the
highest corrosion rate of 2.5563 mpy, while at pH of 7 and above the corrosion rate
remained constant at 0.5317 mpy. pH is a measure of the acidity or basicity of a solution
and plays a crucial role in the corrosion of stainless steel. The corrosion of stainless steel
is an electrochemical process that involves the transfer of electrons between the metal and
its environment. At low pH levels, the concentration of hydrogen ions (H+) in the solution
increases, leading to an increase in the corrosion rate of stainless steel [65]. Conversely, at
higher pH levels, the concentration of H+ ions decrease, resulting in a decrease in the
corrosion rate [66]. Therefore, pH variations can have a significant impact on the corrosion
rate of stainless steel [1]. Similar results have been found that corrosion rate of stainless
steels is affected by pH variations. For instance, a study by Samosir in 2017 demonstrated
that the corrosion rate of stainless steel increased with a decrease in pH below 4 [67]. On
the other hand, maintaining a neutral or higher pH can help reduce the corrosion rate of
stainless steel [68]. Therefore, it is crucial to maintain optimal pH levels to minimize the
corrosion rate of stainless steel and prolong its lifespan.
Fig. 6 also depicts the effect of pH variations on the hardness of SS 316L samples. It can be
seen that the hardness of SS 316L decreased in a pH lower than 7 and higher than 7. The
highest hardness value was found at neutral condition (pH=7) and the lowest hardness
value was at acidic condition (pH=1). Hardness is an important characteristic of stainless
steel, as it determines the material's resistance to wear and deformation. In a study
conducted by Saefuloh et al. in 2020, the hardness of stainless steel 304 was measured in
corrosive media, including sea water and 3.5% NaCl [65]. The results showed that the
hardness of stainless steel decreased as the corrosion rate increased, indicating a negative
correlation between hardness and corrosion rate. Additionally, maintaining a high level of
hardness in stainless steel is crucial to ensure its durability and longevity in various
applications. The pH level of the environment in which stainless steel is used can have a
significant impact on its hardness. Research by Garcia-Cabezon et al. in 2022 found that
precipitation hardening stainless steel (PH SS) manufactured by selective laser melting
had varying levels of hardness depending on the pH level of the environment [69].
Similarly, Saefuloh's research in 2020 showed that the corrosion rate of stainless-steel
duplex was affected by the pH level of the environment, but had no significant effect on the
level of hardness [65]. However, research by Zai et al. in 2020 found that the high strength
and hardness induced by precipitation hardening in PH stainless steels limits their
workability [70]. Hence, it is important to balance pH control and hardness in stainless
steel applications to ensure optimal performance. The hardness of stainless steel is a
critical factor in its performance, and can be influenced by variations in pH levels. While
maintaining a high level of hardness is important, it is also crucial to consider the effects of
pH control on the material's corrosion resistance and workability. Further research is
needed to fully understand the relationship between pH variations and the hardness of
stainless steel, and to develop effective strategies for balancing these factors in various
applications.

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Fig. 6 Effect of pH of solutions on the corrosion rate and hardness of SS 316L

4. Conclusion
In this study, the corrosion behaviors of stainless-steel type SS 316L under exposure
immersions in salty and acidic environments using sodium chloride (NaCl) and sulfuric
acid (H2SO4) solutions were investigated, by referring to a standard method of ASTM G31-
72. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) results revealed that the specimen in NaCl
solution exhibited a darker color, and relatively similar shape of cracks are observed. In
contrast, the specimen immersed in H2SO4 was observed to have a large diagonal crack. It
was found that the corrosion resistance of SS 316L immersed in NaCl solution is better
because the corrosion rate value is < 1 mpy, which was 0.4260 mpy. This value is in the
"excellent" category compared to the corrosion rate value of SS 316L immersed in H 2SO4
solution, which was 2.5141 mpy in the "excellent" category. This indicates that SS 316L is
better placed in a salty environment than in acidic conditions. In the Vickers test, it was
found that the value of each material increased not too significantly. The HV value
increased by 6.34% for materials soaked in NaCl solution, and the value obtained from
materials soaked in H2SO4 solution increased by 1.94%. Moreover, the SS 316L sample
from the NaCl solution has a slightly higher VHN than that of H2SO4. The defect-free
corrosion surface can be attributed to enhancing the mechanical strength of the SS 316L
sample in NaCl. The generated crystals on the surface of SS 316L can also provide higher
mechanical strength. These results indicate that NaCl adds strength to the surface
structure of the material compared to the H2SO4 solution. Therefore, SS 316L itself is
widely used for the manufacture of equipment that is in direct contact with salt solutions
because the main function of SS 316L is to be able to withstand rust, one of which is caused
by chloride. Finally, it can be concluded that SS 316L used in the marine industry will
perform better in terms of resistance and hardness compared to the other industries that
often intersect with acidic solutions. It is crucial to maintain optimal pH levels to minimize
the corrosion rate of stainless steel and prolong its lifespan. Further research is needed to
fully understand the relationship between pH variations and the hardness of stainless
steel, and to develop effective strategies for balancing these factors in various applications.

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Wicaksono et al. / Research on Engineering Structures & Materials 9(4) (2023) 1153-1168

Acknowledgment
The authors thank PT. Cipta Micro Material provided the scanning electron microscopy –
energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) analysis for this research. The authors would
also acknowledge the Atma Jaya Catholic University of Indonesia and PT. Bina Niaga Multi
Usaha for their support for this project.

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