Repassivation of a high chromium stainless steel orthopaedic alloy.

The repassivation of Ortron90, a high chromium stainless steel alloy, was studied to assess the effect of passive layer removal on corrosion levels. Cathodic dissolution of the passive layer followed by potentiostatic experiments within the passive region were employed to study the repassivation process. The scratch method, carried out for comparison purposes, yielded current densities similar to those obtained by cathodic dissolution.