Effects of Cr additions on Corrosion and Erosion-Corrosion Behaviors in the Weld Heat-Affected Zone of Hadfield Steel in Brine Environments

The corrosion and erosion-corrosion behaviors in the weld heat-affected zone (HAZ) of Hadfield steels with varying Cr contents (1, 2, and 3 wt%) were examined. Various experimental methods, including electrochemical polarization, impedance, and weight loss measurements, were utilized. Two types of isothermal heat treatments were conducted in a box furnace to simulate the intercritical HAZ, known to be the most vulnerable region in terms of mechanical properties and environmental stabilities, and large-scale samples for the erosion-corrosion experiment were fabricated. The results showed that increasing the Cr content improved the resistance to corrosion and erosion-corrosion, but there was an inflection point where adding more Cr had the opposite effect. Up to 2 wt%, a higher resistance was exhibited owing to the formation of a thin and protective oxide scale enriched with Cr that adhered to the steel surface. On the other hand, adding 3 wt% of Cr resulted in decreased resistance. This was due to the formation of coarse M7C3 (M: Cr) precipitated along the grain boundary, which caused the development of a thick and unstable oxide scale that detached locally. Based on these findings, it is essential to optimize the Cr content to ensure a high resistance to corrosion and erosion-corrosion in the HAZ of Hadfield steel.