Kenneth J. Evans

Determination of the Crevice Repassivation Potential of Alloy 22 by a Potentiodynamic-Galvanostatic-Potentiostatic Method

Alloy 22 (N06022) is a nickel-based alloy highly resistant to corrosion. In some aggressive conditions of high chloride concentration, temperature and applied potential, Alloy 22 may suffer crevice corrosion, a form of localized corrosion. There are several electrochemical methods that can be used to determine localized corrosion in metallic alloys. One of the most popular for rapid screening is the cyclic potentiodynamic polarization (CPP). This work compares the results obtained by measuring the localized corrosion resistance of Alloy 22 using both CPP and the more cumbersome Tsujikawa-Hisamatsu Electrochemical (THE) method. The electrolytes used were 1 M NaCl and 5 M CaCl{sub 2}, both at 90 C. Results show that similar repassivation potentials were obtained for Alloy 22 using both methods. That is, in cases where localized corrosion is observed using the fast CPP method, there is no need to use THE method since it takes ten times longer to obtain comparable results in spite of the mode of corrosion attack is different in the tested specimens.

Anodic Behavior of Alloy 22 in Calcium Chloride and in Calcium Chloride Plus Calcium Nitrate Brines

Alloy 22 (UNS N60622) is a nickel-based alloy, which is extensively used in aggressive industrial applications, especially due to its resistance to localized corrosion and stress corrosion cracking in high chloride environments. The purpose of this work was to characterize the anodic behavior of Alloy 22 in concentrated calcium chloride (CaCl{sub 2}) brines and to evaluate the inhibitive effect of nitrate, especially to localized corrosion. Standard electrochemical tests such as polarization resistance and cyclic polarization were used. Results show that the corrosion potential of Alloy 22 was approximately -360 mV in the silver-silver chloride (SSC) scale and independent of the tested temperature. Cyclic polarization tests showed that Alloy 22 was mainly susceptible to localized attack in 5 M CaCl{sub 2} at 75 C and higher temperatures. The addition of nitrate in a molar ratio of chloride to nitrate equal to 10 increased the onset of localized corrosion to approximately 105 C. The addition of nitrate to the solution also decreased the uniform corrosion rate and the passive current of the alloy.

Corrosion Fatigue Performance of Duplex 2507 for Riser Applications

Corrosion fatigue performance is of interest for high strength steels in riser applications. This work investigated the corrosion fatigue performance of 2507 duplex stainless steel for use as riser materials in environments containing high partial pressures of carbon dioxide (50–100 bar) and limited quantity of hydrogen sulfide (0–0.12 bar). The procedures developed for controlling oxygen and Fe2+ contamination as well as methods to evaluate the concentration of H2 S in the autoclave are presented. The crack growth rates and ΔKth for these materials in the pressure environments were discussed along with procedures to obtain ΔKth , when they were below 5ksi√in. Low crack growth rates in the range of 1×10−8 in/cycle were measured and the effect of sour environments was quantified. The fatigue crack growth rate in sour environments on 2507 duplex stainless steel is a 10x higher than in air.Copyright

Anodic Polarization Behavior of Titanium Grade 7 in Dust Deliquescence Salt Environments

It is planned to use the highly corrosion resistant titanium grade 7 (Ti Gr 7) and a high strength titanium alloy (Ti Gr 29) to fabricate the drip shield for the Yucca Mountain repository. Ti Gr 7 contains 0.15% Palladium (Pd) to increase its corrosion performance, mainly under reducing conditions. It was important to determine the corrosion behavior of Ti Gr 7 in concentrated brines at temperatures higher than 100 C, which may represent the behavior of dust deliquescence solutions. Tests were performed in concentrated NaCl + KCl solutions containing also nitrates and fluorides. Results show that Ti Gr 7 was highly resistant to general and localized corrosion. Some specimens were polarized to potentials higher than 4 volts. None of the tightly creviced specimens suffered crevice corrosion. The presence of fluoride promoted localized corrosion around the edges of the crevice former.

Long-Term Immersion Testing of Alloy 22 and Titanium Grade 7 Double U-Bend Specimens

Double U-bend specimens of Alloy 22 (N06022) and Titanium Grade 7 (R52400) were exposed to a naturally aerated concentrated Basic Saturated Water (BSW) electrolyte at 105 C for over six years. Different type of discoloration of the Ti Gr 7 and Alloy 22 specimens was observed. General Corrosion was minimal and not distinguishable under a scanning electron microscope. None of the tested specimens suffered environmentally assisted cracking (EAC) or localized corrosion under the tested conditions. The specimens retained their residual stress after the long environmental exposure.

Long-Term Corrosion Behavior of Alloy 22 in 5 M CaCl2 at 120?C

In conditions where tight crevices exist in hot chloride containing solutions Alloy 22 may suffer crevice corrosion. The occurrence (or not) of crevice corrosion in a given environment (e.g. salt concentration and temperature), is governed by the values of the critical potential (E{sub crit}) for crevice corrosion and the corrosion potential (E{sub corr}). This paper discusses the evolution of E{sub corr} and corrosion rate (CR) of creviced Alloy 22 specimens in 5 M calcium chloride (CaCl{sub 2}) at 120 C. Tested specimens included non-creviced rods and multiple creviced assemblies (MCA) both non-welded (wrought) and welded. Results show that Alloy 22 suffers crevice corrosion under the open circuit conditions in the aerated hot CaCl{sub 2} brine. However, after more than a year immersion the propagation of crevice corrosion was not significant. The general corrosion rate decreased or remained unchanged as the immersion time increased. For rods and MCA specimens, the corrosion rate was lower than 100 nm/year after more than a year immersion time.

Repassivation Potential of Alloy 22 in Chloride plus Nitrate Solutions using the Potentiodynamic-Galvanostatic-Potentiostatic Method.

In general, the susceptibility of Alloy 22 to suffer crevice corrosion is measured using the Cyclic Potentiodynamic Polarization (CPP) technique. This is a fast technique that gives rather accurate and reproducible values of re-passivation potential (ER1) in most cases. In the fringes of susceptibility, when the environment is not highly aggressive, the values of re-passivation potential using the CPP technique may not be highly reproducible, especially because the technique is fast. To circumvent this, the re-passivation potential of Alloy 22 was measured using a slower method that combines Potentiodynamic-Galvano-static-Potentiostatic steps (called here the Tsujikawa-Hisamatsu Electrochemical or THE method). The THE method applies the charge to the specimen in a more controlled way, which may give more reproducible re-passivation potential values, especially when the environment is not aggressive. The values of re-passivation potential of Alloy 22 in sodium chloride plus potassium nitrate solutions were measured using the THE and CPP methods. Results show that both methods yield similar values of re-passivation potential, especially under aggressive conditions. (authors)