Corrosion resistance of new copper alloy containing 29Zn, 10Ni and up to 5Mn vis-a-vis Cu-10Ni in sulphide polluted synthetic seawater

Cu-10 Ni alloy suffers from accelerated corrosion in sulphide-polluted seawater. New copper alloys containing 29% Zn, 10Ni and 3 or 5% Mn have been found to be more corrosion resistant than Cu-10Ni alloys in sulphide polluted synthetic seawater. The studies were carried out in synthetic seawater (ASTM D 114–75) and sulphide was added through Na2S (1 gpl ≈ 41ppm S2−). Testing was carried out using cathodic and anodic potentiodynamic polarization methods. Corrosion product film formed on the Cu-29Zn-10Ni-5Mn alloy in sulphide polluted synthetic seawater was characterized using SEM and XRD. The film was found to contain Cu2O, Cu2S, NiS and ZnS. Better corrosion resistance of new alloys as compared to that of Cu-10Ni alloy is attributed to formation of ZnS, a bad conductor, in the film and incorporation of Mn3+ cations in Cu2O and Cu2S lattice.