Effect of Corrosive Environment on Fatigue Behavior of Nickel - Based Alloys

Abstract

Nickel based alloys have been developed as a material offering superior general and localized corrosion resistance compared to the more traditionally used in chemical and oil plant in the most aggressive environment such as hydrochloric acid and ferric chloride. Hence the addition of Cr and Mo to Ni creates alloys with exceptional corrosion resistance in a diverse range of environments. This study examines the roles of Cr and Mo in the corrosion behavior of Ni alloys. The performance of three nickel-base alloys IN600, IN601 and C22 was examined in increasing saline solution severity of sodium chloride, concentrated hydrochloric acid and ferric chloride solution at pH = 0.0. The passive corrosion and breakdown behavior of these alloys suggests that Cr is the primary element influencing general corrosion resistance, while the repassivation potential is strongly dependent on the Mo content. This indicates that Cr plays a strong role in maintaining the passivity of the alloy, while Mo acts to stabilize the passive film after a localized breakdown event. Corrosion fatigue test results indicate that fatigue life of IN600, IN601 and C22 specimens tested in 3.5 % sodium chloride solution are essentially the same as for specimens tested in air. Test results also showed that for IN600, IN601 and C22 alloys, the number of cycles to failure was highest in air and sodium chloride solution, followed by specimens fatigued in hydrochloric acid, and was least in specimens fatigued in ferric chloride solution. No evidence of surface pitting was found on C22 specimens in all three solutions whereas IN600 and IN601 were both pitted. However, pits were generally larger in IN600 likely due to lower Cr content than in IN601.