Synergism of electrochemical and mechanical factors in erosion-corrosion

A theoretical model was developed on basis of nonequilibrium thermodynamics, dislocation kinetics, and electrochemistry, which may lead to the quantitative assessment of material loss produced by the synergism of mechanical and electrochemical factors in an erosion-corrosion process, As predicted by this model, the synergistic effect results mainly from the interaction of two irreversible fluxes, namely, the anodic dissolution current density and the plastic flowing in the surface layer caused by dynamic plastic deformation. An enhanced anodic dissolution flux is induced by the dynamic surface plastic deformation resulting from the impingement of solid particles, which can be correlated to the wastage rate due to the mechanical erosion. Meanwhile, the anodic current present at the electrode surface, in turn, can increase the mobility of dislocation and reduce the resistance in the surface layer against plastic deformation. Such an effect is demonstrated by the hardness degradation of metals in corrosive media. Theoretical analysis indicates that the corrosion-induced hardness degradation is a linear function of the logarithm of anodic current density. The degradation of mechanical erosion resistance with decreasing hardness suggests that the corrosion-enhanced erosion may result from the degradation in hardness of target material induced by the anodic dissolution and the corresponding wastage is also a linear function of the logarithm of anodic current density. The theoretical predictions were compared with the experimental results of carbon steels obtained form the slurry-erosion tests and the micro-hardness measurements. The results indicate that the hardness degradation in corrosive media is mainly controlled by the anodic current density and is almost independent of the polarization behavior of steels.