Assessment of Corrosion Behavior of Ductile Irons by Factorial Experiments

The corrosion behavior of unalloyed and alloyed ductile irons (as cast, annealed, and cold worked) in sea water, dilute sulfuric acid, and dilute sodium hydroxide solutions was assessed. Specimen history had a significant effect on the corrosion potential except in ductile iron alloyed with Ni. When the specimens were subjected to different levels of cold working, the corrosion rate was influenced by both the history and the medium. Temperature had a significant effect on the corrosion rate except in the case of unalloyed ductile iron. Factorial experiments indicated that the cold-worked samples were more sensitive to the effect of temperature and composition on the corrosion rate as compared to annealed and as-cast samples. The medium had a significant effect on the corrosion rate in all the cases.