Welding, and corrosion

Most of these alloys are of proprietary compositions and are known by a variety of trade names. Silicon content ranges from 1.5 to 3.5% usually less than 1.5% zinc content. Tin, manganese, and iron also may be added in small quantities. Because of their excellent strength, ease of welding, and corrosion resistance, the alloys have become important construction materials. As the silicon content increases, the allays become mure subject to fire cracking. 

Mobley, R. K., L. R. Higgins, and D. J. Wickoff, eds. 2008. Maintenance Engineering Handbook, 7th ed. New York McGraw-Hill. This useful reference tool for engineers and technicians performing maintenance covers organization of maintenance, computer applications in maintenance, costs and control, plant, mechanical equipment and electrical equipment maintenance, instrumentation and reliability, lubrication, welding, and corrosion. 

The Zond VD - 96 is intended for the detection of cracks, precipitates, inclusions etc. and corrosive defects with the preliminary estimation of their depth in various objects of magnetic and non - magnetic steels, non-ferrous and refractory metals and welds including coatings. 

The enhanced strength and corrosion properties of duplex stainless steels depend on maintaining equal amounts of the austenite and ferrite phases. The welding thermal cycle can dismpt this balance therefore, proper weld-parameter and filler metal selection is essential. Precipitation-hardened stainless steels derive their additional strength from alloy precipitates in an austenitic or martensitic stainless steel matrix. To obtain weld properties neat those of the base metal, these steels are heat treated after welding. 

Weldments subjected to corrosive attack over a period of time may crack adjacent to the weld seams if the residual stresses are not removed. Gas—tungsten arc welding and gas—metal arc welding ate recommended for joining magnesium, the former for thinner materials and the latter for thicker materials. Maintaining a protective atmosphere is a critical issue in welding these alloys. 

Ma.rine. In the presence of an electrolyte, eg, seawater, aluminum and steel form a galvanic cell and corrosion takes place at the interface. Because the aluminum superstmcture is bolted to the steel bulkhead in a lap joint, crevice corrosion is masked and may remain uimoticed until replacement is required. By using transition-joint strips cut from explosion-welded clads, the corrosion problem can be eliminated. Because the transition is metaHurgicaHy bonded, there is no crevice in which the electrolyte can act and galvanic action caimot take place. Steel corrosion is confined to external surfaces where it can be detected easily and corrected by simple wire bmshing and painting. 

Stainless steel develops a passive protective layer (<5-nm thick) of chromium oxide [1118-57-3] which must be maintained or permitted to rebuild after it is removed by product flow or cleaning. The passive layer may be removed by electric current flow across the surface as a result of dissinulat metals being in contact. The creation of an electrolytic cell with subsequent current flow and corrosion has to be avoided in constmction. Corrosion may occur in welds, between dissimilar materials, at points under stress, and in places where the passive layer is removed it may be caused by food material, residues, cleaning solutions, and bmshes on material surfaces (see CORROSION AND CORROSION CONTROL). 

Zirconium resists attack by nitric acid at concentrations up to 70 wt % and up to 250°C. Above concentrations of 70 wt %, zirconium is susceptible to stress-corrosion cracking in welds and points of high sustained tensile stress (29). Otherwise, zirconium is resistant to nitric acid concentrations of 70—98 wt % up to the boiling point. 

Copper—Nickels. The copper—nickel alloy system is essentially single phase across its entire range. Alloys made from this system are easily fabricated by casting, forming, and welding. They are noted for excellent tarnishing and corrosion resistance. Commercial copper alloys extend from 5 to 40 wt % nickel. Monel is a nickel—copper alloy that is outside of this range and contains 29—53 wt % of copper. 

Figure 6.9 Irregular deposit and corrosion-product mounds containing concentrations of sulfate-reducing bacteria on the internal surface of a 316 stainless steel transfer line carrying a starch-clay mixture used to coat paper material. Attack only occurred along incompletely closed weld seams, with many perforations. Note the heat tint, partially obscured by the deposit mounds, along the circumferential weld.

Severe corrosion by turbulent mill coolant was found generally throughout a rolling-oil system. Hose couplings were severely wasted in as little as 8 weeks (Fig. 7.23A and B). Turbulence caused by high-velocity flow through nozzles accelerated attack. Attack at bends, elbows, intrusive welds, and discharge areas was also severe. 

Dents in tubing can induce erosion failures, especially in soft metals such as copper and brass. Welding and improper heat treatment of stainless steel can lead to localized corrosion or cracking through a change in the microstructure, such as sensitization. Another form of defect is the inadvertent substitution of an improper material. 

Chemical removal of deposits and corrosion products revealed the appearance of the groove (Fig. 14.5). The crevice formed by the incompletely fused weld seam fostered the establishment of differential concentration cells (see Chap. 2). This resulted in localized corrosion and eventual perforation through the greatly thinned tube wall at the bottom of the crevice. The tubercle, which is composed of corrosion products, is a simple result of the corrosion process occurring locally within the crevice. 

Figure 15.18 Examples of crack patterns due to stress-corrosion cracking and corrosion fatigue in butt welds. (Reprinted with permission from Helmut Thielsch, Defects and Failures in Pressure Vessels and Piping, New York, Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1965.)...

Several of the welded junctions were removed from the system for metallographic examination (Fig. 15.20). As can be seen from Fig. 15.20, the internal surface was covered with reddish and tan deposits and corrosion products. The metal surface itself retained a bright, metallic luster. 

Different microstructural regions in a material which has an almost uniform composition can also lead to the formation of corrosion cells (e.g., in the vicinity of welds). Basically, corrosion cells can be successfully overcome by cathodic protection. However, in practice, care has to be taken to avoid electrical shielding by large current-consuming cathode surfaces by keeping the area as small as possible. In general, with mixed installations of different metals, it must be remembered that the protection potentials and the protection range depend on the materials (Section 2.4). This can restrict the use of cathodic protection or make special potential control necessary. 

Ten percent of the anode mass is calculated for aluminum ships. The anode supports must also be of aluminum in order to allow them to be welded and to avoid bimetallic corrosion. 

These steels resist oxidation scaling up to 825°C but are difficult to weld and, thus, are used mainly for items that do not involve welded joints [17]. They are thermally hardened and useful for items that require cutting edges and abrasion resistance in mildly corrosive situations. However, they should not be tempered in the temperature range of 450 to 650°C. This reduces the hardness and wear resistance and also lowers the corrosion resistance because of the depletion of chromium in solution through the formation of chromium carbides. 

The excellent corrosion resistance over a wide range of operating conditions and readily available methods of fabrication by welding and other means of shaping metals make these steels the most extensively used throughout the chemical and allied industries. 

In the Sundyne Canned Motor design, the entire outside of the motor is enclosed in a secondary leakage containment shell or can. Primary leakage protection is provided by corrosion resistant liners which are seal welded and 100% leak checked to assure that pumped fluid does not contact the stator windings or rotor core. There is no shaft protrusion to seal and thus no seals to leak. 

Advice on the reduction of bimetallic corrosion at welded and brazed joints can be found in Reference. The use of replaceable wastage pieces to take up the bimetallic corrosion in various systems is proposed in References... 

It should be noted that swarf from a zirconium-titanium alloy containing approximately 50% by weight of each element is prone to pyrophoricity in air. It has also been reported that when zirconium is welded to titanium, the welded zone is much more sensitive to corrosion than either of the parent metals. If, therefore, it is proposed to use my construction in which zirconium is welded to titanium, caution should be observed in the machining of welds, and the corrosion behaviour of the weld should be checked by prior testing in the environment with which the construction will be employed. 

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