Influence of alloying elements and density on aqueous corrosion behaviour of some sintered low alloy steels

Low alloy steels produced through powder metallurgy route of sintering followed by forging are promising candidate materials for high strength small components. Porosity in such steels poses a real challenge during acid pickling treatment, which is one of the processing steps during manufacturing. The present research work attempts to investigate the mechanism underlying the acid corrosion behaviour of some sintered low alloy steels under induced acid pickling conditions. Sintered-forged low alloy steel samples containing molybdenum (Mo), copper (Cu) and titanium (Ti) were subjected to aqueous corrosion attack by immersing the samples in 18% HCl (Hydrochloric acid) solution for 25 h. Sample weight loss and Fe (Iron) loss were estimated for the corroded samples. The morphology of the corroded surfaces was studied through metallography and scanning electron microscopy. Higher porosity alloys underwent enhanced corrosion rates. Both corrosion rate and iron loss are found to decrease linearly with reduction in porosity in all cases of the alloys. The alloying elements Mo, Ti and Cu, when added in combination, have played a complementary role in the reduction of corrosion rate by almost one order of magnitude compared to unalloyed steel. Presence of carbides of the carbide forming elements Mo and Ti played a positive role on the corrosion behaviour of the low alloy steels.

► Corrosion of low alloy P/M steels under HCl acid pickling environment has been studied.
► Influence of density, strain and alloying elements on the rate of corrosion of the steels has been investigated.
► Residual porosity has significant effect on acid corrosion.
► Addition of the alloying elements Cu, Mo and Ti reduces the corrosion rate significantly.
► Carbide forming elements Mo and Ti improve further the resistance of the steels to aqueous corrosion.