The influence of temperature in the range of 25 to 40 C on crevice corrosion of certain stainless steels (SSs) is studied by field tests performed in natural seawater. The increase in temperature from 25 to 40 C causes both an improvement in the resistance to the corrosion initiation and a decrease, up to a maximum of about two orders of magnitude, in the propagation rate of localized corrosion. The global beneficial effect on the corrosion behavior of the increase in temperature primarily results from a decrease in the oxygen reduction rate on cathodic surfaces linked to a decrease in activity of aerobic bacteria settled on. Small effects of the temperature increase on the activity of sulfate bacteria, the presence of which in natural seawater is often associated with crevices, and on their influence on anodic behavior of SSs were observed.
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Mollica et al. (1988) studied this question.