Corrosion-fatigue behavior of an annealed AISI 1045 carbon steel coated with electroless nickel-phosphorus

The influence of an industrial electroless nickel-phosphorus deposit on the corrosion-fatigue properties of an annealed AISI 1045 steel has been investigated. For this purpose, three corrosive media were selected: distilled water and two NaCl solutions of different concentration (3 and 5%) in distilled water. Corrosion-fatigue tests were conducted at alternating stress levels ranging between 219 and 329 MPa at a frequency of 50 Hz. The corrosion-fatigue properties of the coated and uncoated substrates are very similar when testing is conducted in salty water. However, for testing in distilled water the corrosion-fatigue properties of coated substrates were diminished in relation to the uncoated material. The fractographic analysis of the fracture surfaces revealed the presence of fatigue marks within the electroless nickel-phosphorus deposit, which indicate that the fracture mechanism of the coating is associated to the cyclic loading of the material.