Galvanic corrosion behavior of plain carbon steel-B₄C composite in 3.5% NaCl solution with electrochemical noise

Abstract

The galvanic corrosion behavior of metal-matrix composite plain carbon steel/boron carbide (B₄C) in 3.5% NaCl solution was studied. The composite was locally produced as a weld band on carbon steel by means of the gas tungsten arc welding process and using nickel as the wetting agent. Samples from the weld band, heat-affected zone and parent metal region were extracted precisely and DC/AC electrochemical tests in combination with techniques such as scanning electron microcopy and energy dispersive spectrometry were conducted. The results of the electrochemical tests show that the corrosion resistance of the parent metal sample is higher than that of the welded composite and the HAZ samples. However, as the corrosion potential (E_Corr) of the parent metal is more positive than other two samples, this becomes the cathode in galvanic couples with two other samples. On the other hand, the weld composite sample is also cathodic due to its more positive E_Corr compared to HAZ sample. This means that the HAZ can be particularly at risk of preferential dissolution. The approach can be used in specific areas on plain carbon steel to locally increase hardness and resistance to abrasion and reduce manufacturing costs.

Keywords

composites / scanning electron microscopy / potentiodynamic polarization / electrochemical noise

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