Effect of Microstructure and Sulfide on Corrosion of Cu-Ni Alloys in Seawater

The microstructure and the corrosion product films have been investigated on Cu-Ni alloys by TEM, SEM, AES and electrochemical technique as well as natural seawater exposure tests. Experimental results showed that the alloys had two kinds of microstructure, i.e. recrystallization and incomplete recrystallization. In synthetic seawater containing 2×10-6 S2-, the stability of the alloy increased with the increase of deformation and annealing temperature, i.e., the degree of recrystallization. After exposure to natural seawater for different periods of time, the corrosion product films of the recrystallized alloy were rich in Ni and compact, and there were cracks in the outer layer which contained a small amount of S; the films of the alloy of incomplete recrystallization became thick, loose and porous, and obviously of layered structure, and the intergranular corrosion took place in the underlying substrate. Besides, a great amount of seawater substance existed in the outer layer and some sulfur was found within the grain boundaries that prefer to corrode. The accelerating effect of sulfides in corrosion of Cu-Ni alloys in seawater is attributed to the coexistence and absorption of sulfides and carbides promoting the preference of corrosion where they absorb, and the formation of dissolvable Cu2S results in keeping the surface of the alloys in the active state.