Tuesday, March 18, 2008 - 2:35 PM
Convention Center, Second Level, 220 (Ernest N. Morial Convention Center)

Localized Corrosion of Alloys 22 and 276 under Thin Solution Layers

S. Taira, Y. Zhai, and G.S. Frankel, Fontana Corrosion Center, The Ohio State University

Localized corrosion of alloys 22 and 276 was studied under LiCl solution layers ranging in thickness from 30 to 500 μm and temperatures up to 120 °C.  The solution layer thickness was controlled by the thickness of solution applied at room temperature and humidity and the relative humidity at temperature controlled by a reservoir of saturated LiCl solution. As a result, the applied solution concentration equilibrated with the reservoir and increased to saturation at each temperature.  Electrochemical measurements were performed with in-plane reference and counter electrodes. For both alloys, OCP decreased with decreasing solution thickness, and the impedance decreased with increasing temperature or decreasing solution thickness. Higher temperature tended to cause pitting and crevice corrosion as indicated by a drop of OCP. Moreover, the thinner solution layer led to localized corrosion initiation at lower temperatures, suggesting that the solution thickness affects the localized corrosion characteristics of alloys 22 and 276.