Current Status and Challenges in Corrosion and Protection Strategies for Sintered NdFeB Magnets
WU Yucheng1,2(), GAO Zhiqiang3, XU Guangqing4, LIU Jiaqin5, XUAN Haicheng3, LIU Youhao6, YI Xiaofei6, CHEN Jingwu6, HAN Peide3
1.Key Laboratory of Interface Science and Engineering of New Materials, Ministry of Education, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan 030024, China 2.National-Local Joint Engineering Research Centre of Nonferrous Metals and Processing Technology, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei 230009, China 3.School of Materials Science and Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan 030024, China 4.School of Materials Science and Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei 230009, China 5.Institute of Industry and Equipment Technology, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei 230009, China 6.State Key Laboratory of Rare Earth Permanent Magnet Materials, Anhui Earth-Panda Advance Magnetic Material Co. , Ltd. , Hefei 231500, China
Cite this article:
WU Yucheng, GAO Zhiqiang, XU Guangqing, LIU Jiaqin, XUAN Haicheng, LIU Youhao, YI Xiaofei, CHEN Jingwu, HAN Peide. Current Status and Challenges in Corrosion and Protection Strategies for Sintered NdFeB Magnets. Acta Metall Sin, 2021, 57(2): 171-181.
The susceptibility of sintered NdFeB to corrosion in harsh environments limits their wide variety of applications. Improved resistance to corrosion of NdFeB magnets and advancement of surface coatings are critical directions in permanent magnet material fields. Significant work has been undertaken on the development of long-life NdFeB magnets. However, comprehensive research of NdFeB corrosion, from process technology to fundamental theory, is lacking, mainly owing to the hysteresis in the study of the elementary works of corrosion and protection related to magnetism, and improving the quality and diversified market demands. This analysis covers recent research that has led to advances in anti-corrosion material technology for NdFeB magnets, including corrosion factors, contemporary methodologies from technology to fundamentals, the basic framework for surface protection and key techniques in the industry application. Finally, prospects and existing challenges in the field of corrosion and protection are reviewed, attempting to identify future developments and directions.
Fund: National Natural Science Foundation of China(20571022);National Science and Technology Program(012BAE02B01);Anhui Key Research and Development Program(1804a09020068);Anhui Municipal Science and Technology Project(17030901063);Ministry of Major Science & Technology of Anhui(1301022080)
Fig.1 Schematic of the microstructure of NdFeB materials
Fig.2 Distributions of the magnetic field of a magnetized NdFeB magnet before (a) and after (b) corrosion[13]
Fig.3 Schematic representations for effects of remanence on degradation process of NdFeB materials[22]
Fig.4 Typical morphology of NdFeB microstructure[13]
Element
Speciation
Role
Typical element
Rare earth
Nd-M1-Fe
Substitute for Nd
Dy, Tb, Ce, La, Y
Transition/group element
Nd-M2 or Nd-M2-Fe
Substitute for Fe
Cu, Al, Ga, Zn, Ge, Sn
Transition/group element
M3-B or Fe-M3-B
Substitute for Fe
Co, Nb, Zr, Ti, V, Mo
Table 1 Commonly used elements in alloying process and their roles
Fig.5 Schematics of functionally graded coatings[106] (a, b) discontinuous and continuous curves, respectively(c-e) schematics of discontinuous coatings that contain interfaces with gradual change in composition, grain orientation, and volume fractions of two types of second-phase particles, respectively(f-h) schematics of continuous coatings in absence of interfaces and with gradual change in grain size, fiber orientation, and volume fraction of second-phase particles, respectively
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