Engineering Failure Analysis 42 (2014) 133–142

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Engineering Failure Analysis

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/engfailanal

Detection and analysis of microbiologically influenced

corrosion of 316 L stainless steel with electrochemical noise
technique
C. Chandrasatheesh a, J. Jayapriya a,⇑, R.P. George b, U. Kamachi Mudali b
a
Department of Chemical Engineering, AC Tech, Anna University, Chennai 600 025, India
b
Corrosion Science and Technology, Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR), Kalpakkam 603 102, India

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Microbiologically Influenced Corrosion (MIC) is a specific type of corrosion caused or
Received 8 November 2013 promoted by microorganisms usually chemoautotrophs. In recent years, there has been
Received in revised form 14 March 2014 growing interest in the exploitation of electrochemical noise technique to investigate
Accepted 1 April 2014
and monitor biocorrosion. The advantages of Electrochemical Noise (EN) technique
Available online 13 April 2014
includes the possibility to detect and study the early stages of localized corrosion; however
the comprehension of EN signals still remains very limited. In the present work an attempt
Keywords:
has been made to analyze the current and potential noise records for type 316 L stainless
Corrosion
316 L stainless steel
steel (SS) specimen immersed in Iron oxidizing bacteria inoculated medium amended with
Iron oxidizing bacteria (IOB) different concentrations of NaCl. All the potential and current noise data collected in the
Shot noise time domain were transformed in the frequency domain, using MATLAB software. Shot
noise parameters like frequency of corrosion events (fn), average charge in each event
(q), true coefficient of variation and noise resistance (RN) were analyzed. Low frequency
events and high charge were observed for the specimen after the exposure of 3 weeks in
microbial medium with 1% NaCl when compared to control. It indicates that microbes
can influence the pitting corrosion over the specimen which was also evidenced by
Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). In addition to this, the probabilistic failure model
for MIC on 316 L SS was predicted using Weibull distribution.
Ó 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction

Corrosion can be defined as the deterioration of physical properties of the metal due to a reaction with its environment
(air, moisture, acids etc.) [1]. Microbiologically-Influenced Corrosion (MIC) is a specific type of corrosion of metals as a result
of the metabolic activity of microorganisms [2]. There are about a dozen of bacteria, fungi or algae known to cause MIC of
carbon steels, stainless steels, aluminum alloys and copper alloys in waters and soils with pH 4–9 and temperature 10–50 °C.
In general, microorganisms secrete metabolites such as mineral and organic acids, exopolymers that can influence pitting,
dealloying, galvanic corrosion, stress corrosion cracking and hydrogen embrittlement [3–5]. This MIC is extremely aggres-
sive, and in its worst form, leads to failure in heat exchanger systems, fire protection systems, cooling water pipes, petroleum
transmission pipes and offshore structures etc. [6–8]. Once established, MIC is difficult to eliminate, and may elevate into a
chronic maintenance and operating problem for years following.

⇑ Corresponding author. Tel.: +91 44 22359237; fax: +91 44 22350007.

E-mail address: jayapriyachem@sify.com (J. Jayapriya).

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.engfailanal.2014.04.002
1350-6307/Ó 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
134 C. Chandrasatheesh et al. / Engineering Failure Analysis 42 (2014) 133–142

Due to the electrochemical nature of MIC, electrochemical methods are useful tools to study reactions at the metal/bio-
film interface, investigate MIC mechanisms and monitor the onset of MIC and its propagation. Several researches have
attempted to understand the MIC phenomenon by the use of linear polarization resistance, galvanic currents, potentiody-
namic polarization curves, large signal polarization techniques, random potential pulse method, electrochemical noise tech-
nique, electrochemical impedance spectrometry and electrochemical relaxation methods (programmed pulse relaxation,
sinusoidal ac relaxation) [9,10].
Electrochemical noise is defined as the random fluctuations of the potential and current passing through an interface
under the potentiostatic or galvanostatic control, typically of low frequency (<10 Hz) and low amplitude [11,12]. Data anal-
ysis of ECN can give information about the rate and nature of the chemical process taking place at the electrodes. This tech-
nique has been used to study the equilibrium constant of redox reaction and homogeneous process in solution [13]. This
noise analysis is well developed in chemistry, biology and electronics and is being increasingly applied to electrochemical
systems, particularly in corrosion engineering [14]. Electrochemical Noise (EN) under open-circuit potential has emerged
as an alternative technique for corrosion studies since it does not require input signals that could cause perturbations to
operating systems [15]. EN technique measures the stochastic fluctuations of the corrosion potential and the corrosion
current. It also gives information about the kinetics and mechanism of the corrosion process [16]. Hence, this technique
can be used for online monitoring of corrosion caused by microbes even when the operating system is active.
To elucidate this, iron oxidizing bacteria (IOB) was chosen as a model organism. Metal depositing bacteria (iron oxidizing
bacteria) are capable to generate energy for growth by oxidation of ferrous (Fe2+) to ferric (Fe3+) ion, that afterwards precip-
itate as ferric hydroxides (Fe(OH)3) extracellularly [17]. Little and Wagner reported that the acceleration of the corrosion
process by IOB on stainless steel and other passive metals was prone to crevice corrosion [18]. It is known that corrosion
damage occurs in different steel equipments, heat exchangers (tubes, lids, tube-sheets, connection pipes, extinguisher pipe-
lines) and other parts of the water system in oil refinery and nuclear plants mainly by IOB [19]. Severe pitting attack (pit
depth up to 10 mm) was detected on the SS due to IOB beneath the brownish rust sediment layer [20].
Hence, in this study, an attempt was made to use electrochemical-noise parameters to detect the initiation and propagation
of MIC on stainless steels. It is also aimed to analyze the electrochemical potential noise (EPN) and electrochemical current
noise (ECN) data for the prediction of corrosion kinetics using shot noise theory. In addition, the effects of different concen-
trations of NaCl (1%, 3% and 6%) on MIC were also discussed using EN technique.

2. Materials and methods

2.1. Specimen preparation

The specimen used in this study was AISI Type 316 L SS (UNS S31603) obtained from Steel Mart India, Mumbai and its
chemical composition is shown in Table 1. Prior to the experiments, the cylindrical rod specimens were abraded with
wet silicon carbide papers up to 1200 grit, then rinsed with deionised water, degreased with acetone and finally dried in
air. For EN studies, cylindrical shaped AISI Type 316 L SS (length: 0.035 m, diameter: 0.020 m) drilled and tapped at one
end in order to prevent crevice corrosion attack were used.

2.2. Microorganism and media

Iron oxidizing bacteria was isolated from sea water using a selective medium containing (per L distilled water) 0.15 g
glucose, 0.5 g ammonium sulfate, 0.01 g calcium nitrate, 0.05 g dipotassium phosphate, 0.05 g magnesium sulfate, 0.05 g
potassium chloride, 0.10 calcium carbonate, 0.0001 g cyanocobalamin (Vitamin B12) and 0.0004 g thiamine. The oxidation
of Fe2+ to Fe 3+ by the IOB isolate was confirmed by the appearance of the characteristic deep red color when potassium
thiocyanate (KSCN) was added to the broth [21]. For EN studies, the IOB was inoculated in a nutrient medium (per L sterilized
distilled water, pH 7): 5.0 g peptone, 1.5 g beef extract, 1.5 g yeast extract amended with different concentrations of NaCl
(1%, 3% and 6% w/v). The medium amended with different concentrations of NaCl without IOB served as the control.

2.3. Electrochemical noise studies

Electrochemical noise studies were performed on a PC-controlled electrochemical analyzer (CH Instruments, 660D,
Austin, USA). The electrochemical cell consisted of a two nominally identical working electrodes (one working electrode
is directly connected to ground and the other is connected to the working electrode cable) and Silver/Silver chloride

Table 1
Chemical composition of 316 L stainless steel.

Element C Si P S Cr Mn Fe Ni Mo
Weight% 0.01 0.98 0.04 0.03 17.02 1.98 65.25 11.18 3.51
 C. Chandrasatheesh et al. / Engineering Failure Analysis 42 (2014) 133–142 135

(Ag/AgCl) electrode as the reference. The specimens were immersed in the electrochemical cell (capacity: 500 ml) containing
250 ml of medium amended with NaCl, inoculated with 1 ml aliquot of overnight culture of IOB (1.2  104 CFU/ml). The
effect of iron oxidizing bacteria influenced corrosion was monitored using two nominally identical specimens for about
3 weeks, where current and potential noise signals were collected for 1 s time intervals. Current noise was measured as
the galvanic coupling between two nominally identical working electrodes, with the current being measured using a zero
resistance ammeter to ensure that the two electrodes are at the same electronic potential [22].
Total viable count in the electrolyte was determined by plate diluted suspension in diluted agar incubated at 32 °C and
colony counted. Growth was directly observed after staining the electrode with 0.1% acridine orange (AO) using an epifluo-
rescence microscope (Eclipse E600, Nikon) using excitation filter (490 nm) and emission filter (515 nm). Acridine orange is
permeating to both live and dead cells. The bacterial cells staining orange were considered as metabolically active and the
bacteria staining green as metabolically inactive [23]. The dissolved oxygen (DO) in the electrolyte was estimated using
the Ecoscan DO 6 probe (Eutech Instruments, Singapore). The exposed specimens were observed under SEM in order to study
the type and extent of corrosion attack and its morphology.
All the potential and current noise data collected in the time domain were transformed in the frequency domain through
the fast Fourier transform (FFT) method, using MATLAB software. The values of frequency of corrosion events (fn) and aver-
age charge in each event (q) were calculated using the low frequency power spectral density (PSD) values using FFT spectra.
Shot-noise parameters like fn and q, true coefficient of variation, corrosion current (Icorr) and noise resistance (RN) were ana-
lyzed [24].

Icorr ¼ q  fn ð1Þ

B2 B2 b
fn ¼ and f n ¼ 2 ð2Þ
PSDE  A rE  A
pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
PSDE  PSDI rI rE
q¼ and q ¼ ð3Þ
B Bb
pffiffiffi
rI 2  rV
True coefficient of variation ¼ ¼ ð4Þ
Icorr B

rv
RN ¼ ð5Þ
rI
where PSDE and PSDI are the power spectral density values of the potential and current noise respectively, B is the Stern
Geary coefficient, rI and rV are the standard deviation of current and potential respectively, b is the band width of the mea-
surement and A is the immersed area of the electrode [22,25].

3. Results and discussion

3.1. Electrochemical noise measurements

Fig. 1 shows the current and potential noise records for type 316 L stainless steel specimen immersed in IOB inoculated
broth amended with different concentrations of NaCl (1%, 3% and 6% w/v) and control. It could be visualized from Fig. 1a and
b there were no significant changes in EN signals during the specimen exposure for 20 d in control with 1% NaCl, indicating
that the specimen was in the passive state. It was also noted there were no significant changes in the control eventhough the
medium was amended with high NaCl concentrations. In the early stages of exposure of 316 L SS (1–3 days) in microbial
medium amended with different concentrations of NaCl, irregular current transients were observed (Fig. 1c, e, g). It appears
that the current transients persisted for 2–3 d owing to initiation of electro active biofilm adhesion on the specimen. How-
ever, the amplitude of the current transients was highest for the microbial medium amended with 1% NaCl solution (Fig. 1c,
d). As the NaCl concentration increased in the microbial medium (3% and 6%), the current transients did not increase for 316
L SS after 21 d exposure.
The bacterial density and the chemical oxygen demand (COD) reduction during the growth of bacteria at different con-
centration of NaCl as given in Table 2. The microbial medium amended with high salinity (6%) ran for a period of 21 d. The
reduction of chemical oxygen demand (55%) was observed in the process and the suspended growth of bacteria remained
low (2.7  103 CFU/ml). This suggests that (i) the growth of IOB under the operating conditions (high salinity) was very slow.
(ii) The IOB are unable to survive outside the high salt native environment (seawater), because the high concentration of
NaCl in the media limits the availability of O2 for respiration in electrochemical cell in controlled laboratory conditions.
Hence, the broth amended with low concentration of 1% NaCl appeared to facilitate bacterial adhesion and increase the
MIC on the specimen. Highly intense red and green fluorescence in the epifluorescence micrographs also evidenced high
bacterial density on the specimen exposed to 1% NaCl solution when compared to 6% salinity (Fig. 2). This reflected in EN
signals of 316 L SS specimen immersed in microbial medium with low salinity (Fig. 1c and d). It was seen from Fig. 1c, that
136 C. Chandrasatheesh et al. / Engineering Failure Analysis 42 (2014) 133–142

Fig. 1. Potential and current noise records for control – (a) and (b), IOB inoculated medium containing 1% NaCl (c) and (d), 3% NaCl (e) and (f) and 6% NaCl
(g) and (h).

Table 2
Bacterial density and COD reduction by iron oxidizing bacteria.

Solution Bacterial density (CFU/mL) COD reduction (%)

IOB + medium + 1% NaCl 1.24  107 92.5
IOB + medium + 3% NaCl 3.20  106 81.2
IOB + medium + 6% NaCl 2.70  103 55.6

the stepwise increase in current was accompanied by a drop in potential indicating a localized corrosion attack after expo-
sure to the microbial medium. Also, a large decrease in potential and constant current indicating dissolution of the surface of
the specimen was observed after 15 d.
 C. Chandrasatheesh et al. / Engineering Failure Analysis 42 (2014) 133–142 137

Fig. 2. Epifluorescence micrographs of IOB inoculated medium containing (a) 1% NaCl and (b) 6% NaCl.

3.2. Estimation of shot noise parameters

All the potential and current noise data collected in the time domain were transformed in the frequency domain through
the fast Fourier transform (FFT) method, using MATLAB software. The frequency of events, fn, and average charge, q, in each
event were determined using the Eqs. (1)–(3). Subsequently, the cumulative probability of fn, F(fn), and F(q) were estimated
by a mean rank approximation for each experiment from the set of 180 fn and q data [26,27]. The current and potential noise
parameters of the control with 1% NaCl were taken into account in the further analysis of short noise parameters, since the
amplitude of the current transients was the highest for the microbial medium amended with 1% NaCl solution. The cumu-
lative probability was plotted against frequency of events fn (Fig. 3a) of 316 L SS exposed to microbial medium supplemented
with different salt concentrations. It was observed that the distribution of fn shifted to a lower frequency region in microbial
medium with 1% NaCl solution when compared to control (105 Hz). The distribution of fn became more wider (1011 to
106 Hz) and shifted to a lower frequency region corresponding to localized corrosion dominant on the specimen. It is well
documented in literature that localized corrosion such as pitting or crevice can be characterized by a small number of events
and is therefore expected to have low frequency and high charge [22,24].
Similarly, it could be observed that when using microbial medium for 316 L SS immersion in medium amended with 1%
NaCl, the q values was significantly higher in the range 109 to 104 C (Fig. 3b), but in the case of control without microbes,
there was only a marginal decrease in the average charge q in each event (1010 to 107 C). The three fold rise in the upper
limit of the q value clearly indicates that microbes can influence the pitting corrosion over the specimen. In order to accel-
erate initiation and development of localized corrosion, the experiments were conducted in microbial medium with much
higher salinity (3% and 6% w/v). This however did not reflect in EN signals when the salt concentration was too high. The q
value shifted only from 109 to 107 C after the exposure of specimen in microbial medium with the augmentation of 3% and
6% w/v NaCl. Thus localized corrosion was suppressed over the specimen in the presence of higher chloride concentration as

Fig. 3. Cumulative probability plots of (a) fn and (b) q for 316 L SS immersed in IOB inoculated medium with different concentrations of NaCl.
138 C. Chandrasatheesh et al. / Engineering Failure Analysis 42 (2014) 133–142

high frequency events are dominant (Fig. 3a). Therefore, corrosion of 316 L SS, influenced by the metabolic activity of iron
oxidizing bacteria under low saline conditions was found to be much higher.
In previous works, it has been suggested the coefficient of variation, is the conventional statistical parameter which pro-
vides an indication of localized corrosion [28]. However it suffers with the fundamental problem that the expected value of
the mean current is zero. This limitation can be avoided by using true coefficient of variation [29]. In this experiment, true
coefficient variation profile of 316 L SS in the microbial medium amended with 1% w/v NaCl solution is almost five order of
magnitude than in the control (Fig. 4), confirmed a localized corrosion attack over the specimen. Pujar et al. has also reported
higher true coefficient of variation values when the biofilm initiated localized corrosion attack on stainless steel [22]. The
surface morphology of exposed specimens as observed through SEM is shown in Fig. 5. It was observed that the number
of pits also could be ranked in a reduced series: IOB + medium + 1% NaCl, IOB + medium + 3% NaCl and IOB + medium + 6%
NaCl (Fig. 5b, c, d). In agreement with these shot noise parameters like PSD, fn and q, pits diameter as large 80–90 lm
and as small pits 10–20 lm were observed on the corroded specimen after exposure in microbial medium with 1% NaCl
(Fig. 5e). These results revealed that the biofilm on the exposed specimen had induced and initiated the pitting corrosion
and it might have been further propagated as depth stable pits due to the presence of excess aggressive Cl ions. However,
only some shallows pits and micropits were seen after the specimen exposure in microbial medium with high salinity (3%
and 6% w/v). Since at higher salinity the bacterial growth was inhibited, the pitting corrosion is not further propagated even
in the presence of Cl ions. To analyse the corrosion product layer on the specimen, SEM coupled with EDAX analysis pattern
were taken (Fig. 6). Fig. 6b showed that these deposites are primarily iron oxides. This is attributed to iron oxidizing bacte-
ria’s slow metabolic ability to oxidize ferrous ions to ferric oxides. Xu et al. [30] has explained that the ability of IOB to
metabolise ferrous ions to ferric forming a low density hydrated iron oxide in corrosion tubercules which is the key factor
for corrosion of steel.
Electrochemical noise resistance (RN) is defined as the ratio of standard deviation of the measured potential and current
noise and is inversely proportional to the corrosion activity of the system [31]. The outer surface layer of the corrosion
deposit on the specimen after exposure in microbial medium with 1% NaCl as shown in Fig. 5e and the corresponding EDAX
analysis of these deposits revealed that iron (Fe-28 wt%) and oxygen were the main components (Fig. 6). It was inferred that
IOB derive energy from the oxidation of ferrous (Fe2+) to ferric (Fe3+) at/near neutral pH and induce an increase in the for-
mation of deposits of iron oxides. Since these metal oxides are corrosion by-products, it was expected that RN would be lower
for microbial medium (Fig. 7a). In contrast to this view, the corrosion of 316 L SS after exposure in microbial medium with 1%
NaCl showed a much higher RN (106 ohm cm2) when compared to control (103 ohm cm2). It is known that the presence of
high dissolved oxygen content (Fig. 7b) increases the rate of reduction at the cathode, resulting in a reduction in the ampli-
tude of the anodic current signal. Klapper et al. [32] reported that the anodic amplitude was reduced by almost 60% as a
result of dissolved oxygen reduction. This leads to the decrease in rI resulting in the higher RN values. Fig. 8 showed that
the same trend of rI values has been observed in microbial media over the period. It could be avoided by nitrogen purging
for complete depletion of dissolved oxygen in microbial media. In this study, IOB are microaerophilic and utilized low con-
centrations of oxygen (O2) for growth (Fig. 7b), since it was not possible to maintain the anaerobic environments. Therefore,
it can be concluded that RN may not be a proper indicator to detect the localized corrosion on the metals accelerated by the
facultative bacteria. However, other shot noise parameters like PSD, fn and q are not influenced by the change in amplitude of
current signals and hence are more specific to detect the pitting corrosion due to the metabolic action of microorganisms
[22].

Fig. 4. True coefficient variation profile of microbial influenced corrosion of 316 L SS.
 C. Chandrasatheesh et al. / Engineering Failure Analysis 42 (2014) 133–142 139

Fig. 5. SEM micrographs of 316 L SS after 21 days of exposure (a) control (b) and (e) IOB inoculated medium with 1% NaCl (c) IOB inoculated medium with
3% NaCl and (d) IOB inoculated medium with 6% NaCl.

Fig. 6. EDAX analysis of 316 L SS (a) pure specimen (b) corroded specimen.

3.3. Analysis of MIC by using Weibull distribution

The degradation of specimen surface appearance cannot be examined by weight loss, because there is no significant loss
in weight at an early stage of corrosion initiation. The laboratory test conducted in microbial medium produces a series of
short failure time data, hence it is difficult to extrapolate these data to assess the distribution of field failure time due to MIC.
Alternatively, if the distribution is known as a function of microbes, then it can provide the estimated distribution of field
140 C. Chandrasatheesh et al. / Engineering Failure Analysis 42 (2014) 133–142

Fig. 7. (a) RN plot and (b) dissolved oxygen profile for control and different concentrations of NaCl.

Fig. 8. rI and rv profile of microbiologically influenced corrosion of 316 L SS.

failure time due to corrosion. Previous studies reported [33,34] that the pit initiation follows a Weibull distribution and it is a
widely used cumulative probability function for predicting life time in reliability tests.
The cumulative probability F(t) of a Weibull distribution function was calculated using the modified equation of Park and
Pyun [33] as follows:
  
1
ln ln ¼ mlnt  ln n ð6Þ
1  FðtÞ

where two parameters ‘m’ the shape and ‘n’ scale parameter can be determined from the slope of the linear plot ln{ln[1/
(1  F(t))]} versus ln t and intercept on the ln{ln[1/(1  F(t))]} axis respectively. From Fig. 9a, it was seen the mean time
to failure (tm) for the initiation and propagation of MIC on 316 L SS immersed in microbial medium with 1% NaCl shifted
to a higher value when compared to control, analogous to the shift of fn to a lower frequency (Fig. 3a). Two linear regions
in the Weibull probability plots indicate that two failure modes exist. The findings of the current study are consistent with
those Na et al. [34] who found shorter tm range are associated with uniform corrosion and longer tm range for localized
corrosion such as metastable pitting or pit initiation.
The pit nuclei or conditional pitting failure rate r(t) is defined as, the probability that a noncorroded specimen at time ‘t’
will change into the pitted state in next unit time Dt, assuming that the pitting failure did not occur prior to time t [33]. It can
be calculated as
m m1
rðtÞ ¼ t ð7Þ
n
In agreement to shot noise parameters, the r(t) was lower at high salinity of 3% and 6% w/v when compared to microbial
medium amended with 1% NaCl at a given time t (Fig. 9b). The pitting failure rate (rt) follows an exponential decay pattern,
since the value of shape parameter (m) was less than unity (Table 3). These results revealed that, it was possible to clearly
 C. Chandrasatheesh et al. / Engineering Failure Analysis 42 (2014) 133–142 141

Fig. 9. (a) Weibull probability plot and (b) pit embryo generation rate for 316 L SS in control and different concentrations of NaCl.

Table 3
Shape parameter m and scale parameter n for 316 L SS.

Solution Shape parameter m Scale parameter n

Control (1% NaCl) 0.2857 5.473
IOB + medium + 1% NaCl 0.3750 2.220
IOB + medium + 3% NaCl 0.2060 1.349
IOB + medium + 6% NaCl 0.3176 3.400

detect the initiation of microbiologically induced pitting corrosion over the specimen through shot noise theory and Weibull
distribution function. The SEM and epifluorescence micrographs of the corroded specimens, agreed well with these stochastic
models.

4. Conclusion

The current and potential noise records were obtained for type 316 L stainless steel (SS) specimen immersed in IOB inoc-
ulated medium amended with different concentrations of NaCl and analyzed by shot noise theory. It was observed that the q
values ranged between 109 and 104 C for the microbial medium with low NaCl content (1 wt%) whereas they ranged 1010
to 107 C for control. The three fold rise in the upper limit of q, indicating the specimen 316 L SS immersed in a microbial
medium amended with 1% NaCl exhibited the low corrosion resistance. These results also agreed well with the SEM and
epifluorescence micrographs. EN signals in the microbial medium amended with high salinity were similar to the control
since the bacterial growth was remarkably low. The pit embryo generation rate was calculated using Weibull probability
function and it showed that the rate of pit embryo generation was higher for 316 L stainless steel (SS) specimen immersed
in IOB inoculated medium amended with 1% NaCl. These studies concluded that pit initiation and propagation was acceler-
ated by the biofilm of IOB rather than the presence of higher chloride ions. These studies also showed that fn and q were
found to be significant shot noise parameters to detect the MIC. Further studies are in progress to develop the sensor based
on EN to monitor the MIC at an early stage.

Acknowledgement

The authors wish to acknowledge the UGC-DAE Consortium for Scientific Research – Indore, India for the financial
support.

References

[1] Van Delinder LS. Corrosion basics – an introduction. Houston, TX: NACE International; 1984.
[2] Videla HA, Herrera LK. Microbiologically influenced corrosion: looking to the future. Int Microbiol 2005;8:169–80.
[3] Dexter SC. Biologically induced corrosion. Houston, TX: NACE International; 1986.
[4] Werner SE, Johnson CA, Laycock NJ, Wilson PT, Webster BJ. Pitting of Type 304 stainless steel in the presence of a biofilm containing sulphate reducing
bacteria. Corros Sci 1998;40:465–80.
142 C. Chandrasatheesh et al. / Engineering Failure Analysis 42 (2014) 133–142

[5] Sana NO, Nazırb H, Dönmezc G. Microbiologically influenced corrosion failure analysis of nickel–copper alloy coatings by Aeromonas salmonicida and
Delftia acidovorans bacterium isolated from pipe system. Eng Fail Anal 2012;25:63–70.
[6] Almeida MAN, de Franca FP. Thermophilic and mesophilic bacteria in biofilms associated with corrosion in a heat exchanger. World J Microbiol
Biotechnol 1999;15:439–42.
[7] Machuca LL, Murray L, Gubner R, Bailey SI. Evaluation of the effects of seawater ingress into 316L lined pipes on corrosion performance. Mater Corros
2014;65:8–17.
[8] Maruthamuthu S, Kumar BD, Ramachandran S, Anadkumar B, Palanichamy S, Chandrasekaran M, et al. Microbial corrosion in petroleum product
transporting pipelines. Ind Eng Chem Res 2011;50:8006–15.
[9] Mansfeld F, Little B. A technical review of electrochemical techniques applied to microbiologically influenced corrosion. Corros Sci 1991;32:247–72.
[10] Schmitt G. Sophisticated electrochemical methods for MIC investigation and monitoring. Mater Corros 1997;48:586–601.
[11] Barker GC. Noise connected with electrode processes. J Electroanal Chem Interfacial Electrochem 1969;21:127–36.
[12] Tyagai VA. Noises of electrochemical systems. Electrokhimiya 1974;10:3–24.
[13] Blanc G, Gabrielli C, Keddam M. Measurement of the electrochemical noise by a cross correlation method. Electrochim Acta 1975;20:687–9.
[14] Loto CA. Electrochemical noise measurement technique in corrosion research. Int J Electrochem Sci 2012;7:9248–70.
[15] Roberge R. Analysis of spontaneous electrochemical noise for corrosion studies. J Appl Electrochem 1993;23:1223–31.
[16] Legat A, Dolecek V. Chaotic analysis of electrochemical noise measured on stainless steel. J Electrochem Soc 1995;142:1851–8.
[17] Emerson D, Weiss JV, Megonigal JP. Iron-oxidizing bacteria are associated with ferric hydroxide precipitates (Fe-Plaque) on the roots of wetland plants.
Appl Environ Microbiol 1999;65:2758–61.
[18] Little B, Wagner P. Myths related to microbially influenced corrosion. Mater Perform 1997;36:40–4.
[19] Starosvetsky JO, Armon R, Groysman A, Starosvetsky D. Fouling of carbon steel heat exchanger caused by iron bacteria. Mater Perform 1999;38:55–62.
[20] Starosvetsky D, Armon R, Yahalom J, Starosvetsky JO. Pitting corrosion of carbon steel caused by iron bacteria. Int Biodeter Biodegr 2001;47:79–87.
[21] Petty JT. A short qualitative analysis scheme without hazardous wastes. J Chem Educ 1991;68:942–3.
[22] Pujar MG, George RP, Muraleedharan P, Kamachi Mudali U. Microbiologically influenced corrosion in UNS S31653: detection and analysis using
electrochemical noise technique. Corrosion 2011;67:115004-1–115004-11.
[23] Mah TC, Toole GA. Mechanisms of biofilm resistance to antimicrobial agents. Trends Microbiol 2001;9:34–9.
[24] Cottis RA, Al-Awadhi MAA, Al-Mazeedi H, Turgoose S. Measures for the detection of localized corrosion with electrochemical noise. Electrochim Acta
2001;46:3665–74.
[25] Cottis RA. Interpretation of electrochemical noise data. Corrosion 2001;57:265–85.
[26] Sanchez-Amaya JM, Cottis RA, Botana FJ. Shot noise and statistical parameters for the estimation of corrosion mechanisms. Corros Sci
2005;47:3280–99.
[27] Na KH, Pyun SI. Effects of sulphate, nitrate and phosphate on pit initiation of pure aluminium in HCl-based solution. Corros Sci 2007;49:2663–75.
[28] Al-Zanki IA, Gill JS, Dawson JL. Electrochemical noise measurements on mild steel in 0.5 M sulphuric acid. Mater Sci Forum 1986;8:463–76.
[29] Al-Mazeedi HAA, Cottis RA. A practical evaluation of electrochemical noise parameters as indicators of corrosion type. Electrochim Acta
2004;49:2787–93.
[30] Xu CM, Zhang YH, Cheng GX, Zhu WS. Corrosion and electrochemical behavior of 316L stainless steel in sulfate-reducing and iron-oxidizing bacteria
solutions. Chin J Chem Eng 2006;14:829–34.
[31] Cottis RA, Turgoose S. Electrochemical noise measurements – a theoretical basis. Mater Sci Forum 1995;192–194:663–72.
[32] Klapper HS, Goellner J, Heyn A. The influence of the cathodic process on the interpretation of electrochemical noise signals arising from pitting
corrosion of stainless steels. Corros Sci 2010;52:1362–72.
[33] Park JJ, Pyun SI. Stochastic approach to the pit growth kinetics of Inconel alloy 600 in Cl ion-containing thiosulphate solution at temperatures 25–
150 °C by analysis of the potentiostatic current transients. Corros Sci 2004;46:285–96.
[34] Na KH, Pyun SI, Kim HP. Analysis of electrochemical noise obtained from pure aluminium in neutral chloride and alkaline solutions. Corros Sci
2007;49:220–30.