An investigation of the Metallurgical Factors Effect on Corrosion Behavior of Zr-Nb Alloy

In this work, the effect of metallurgical factors on corrosion behavior of Zr-1%Nb in %3.5 NaCl media at 60oC was investigated. After different processes, the microstructure of the treated alloy was analyzed by optical and scanning electron microscopes. Corrosion behavior of the specimens was evaluated by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and potensiodynamic polarization. The results showed that addition of Nb as alloying element, result in increasing both the hardness and polarization resistance of the alloy. While strengthening by deformation process led to refining the grains of the alloy but it had reverse effects on corrosion behavior of the alloy as it decreased the polarization resistance, up to 7 times less than untreated sample. This shows that it is necessary to optimize the conditions of deformation process to access high strength alloy together good corrosion resistance.