Stress Corrosion Behavior of Ni-Cr-Mo-V Steel in 3.5%NaCl Solution Under the Interaction of Hydrostatic Pressure and Tensile Stress
SONG Yushan1, LIU Rui1(), CUI Yu2, LIU Li1(), WANG Fuhui1
1 Shenyang National Laboratory for Materials Science, Northeastern University, Shenyang 110819, China 2 Shi -changxu Innovation Center for Advanced Materials, Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110016, China
Cite this article:
SONG Yushan, LIU Rui, CUI Yu, LIU Li, WANG Fuhui. Stress Corrosion Behavior of Ni-Cr-Mo-V Steel in 3.5%NaCl Solution Under the Interaction of Hydrostatic Pressure and Tensile Stress. Acta Metall Sin, 2025, 61(2): 309-322.
With the promotion of the deep-sea strategy of China, the safety of metallic structural materials in deep sea is considered critical for development of deep-sea engineering equipment. High-strength low-alloy (HSLA) steel is widely used in pressure hulls of deep-sea submarines and oil platforms. However, HSLA steel is affected by the complex mechanical environment during its long-term service in the deep sea, leading to severe corrosion failure. Therefore, research on the effects of the hydrostatic pressure and tensile stress in deep sea on the stress corrosion behavior of HSLA steel is beneficial for the development, application, and lifetime prediction of deep-sea engineering equipment. Here, experiments were conducted using Ni-Cr-Mo-V steel, and the electrochemical measurement system and slow strain rate tensile (SSRT) test system in a simulated deep-sea environment were established in laboratory. The electric double-layer structure at the metal-solution interface was investigated using the differential capacitance curve, and the corrosion current density of the alloy was characterized with the linear polarization curve. The morphology of pits at local corrosion sites and fracture after the SSRT test were observed through SEM, and the size of the pits was analyzed using white-light interferometry. The stress corrosion cracking (SCC) sensitivity of the alloy was studied utilizing the SSRT test. The effects of the hydrostatic pressure and deformation on the concentration of H+ near the alloy surface were determined via the hydrolysis of metal cations. The results illustrated that the hydrostatic pressure can improve the SCC susceptibility of Ni-Cr-Mo-V steel in 3.5%NaCl solution, which can be affected by the dual effects of the interaction of the hydrostatic pressure and tensile stress on the local corrosion behavior. On the one hand, the interaction of the tensile stress and hydrostatic pressure affects the expansion and structure of pits and suppresses the adhesion of corrosion products to the alloy surface. On the other hand, the hydrostatic pressure and tensile stress affect the electric double layer at the metal-solution interface and subsequently promote the hydrolysis of metal cations, increasing the H+ concentration near the alloy surface. Additionally, the fracture mode of Ni-Cr-Mo-V steel in 3.5%NaCl solution is independent of the hydrostatic pressure; however, the hydrostatic pressure determines the shallow and small structure of the dimples in the fracture.
Fund: National Key Research and Development Program of China(2022YFB3808800);China Postdoctoral Science Foundation(2021M700711);National Natural Science Foundation of China
Fig.1 Geometry of the specimen for slow strain rate tensile (SSRT) test (a), and schematics of the U-bend specimen (b) and the as-received specimen (c) for electrochemical measurements (unit: mm)
Fig.2 Schematics of the SSRT test system (a) and the electrochemical measurement system (b) in the simulated deep-sea environment
Fig.3 Secondary electron SEM image (a) and OM image (b) of microstructures of the as-received Ni-Cr-Mo-V steel
Fig.4 Mechanical properties of Ni-Cr-Mo-V steel after SSRT test under different conditions (a) strain-stress curve (b) fracture strain (c) fracture strength
Fig.5 Side surface morphologies of Ni-Cr-Mo-V steel after SSRT test in air (a, d), and 0.1 MPa (b, e) and 20 MPa (c, f) in 3.5%NaCl solution (a-c) 1 × 10-6 s-1 (d-f) 5 × 10-6 s-1
Fig.6 Fracture surface morphologies of Ni-Cr-Mo-V steel after SSRT test in air (a, d), and 0.1 MPa (b, e) and 20 MPa (c, f) in 3.5%NaCl solution, showing the fibrous zone (F) in the center and the shear fracture zone (S) at the side (Arrows indicate the fracture propagation) (a-c) 1 × 10-6 s-1 (d-f) 5 × 10-6 s-1
Fig.7 Magnified cracks on the fibrous zone of Ni-Cr-Mo-V steel fracture after SSRT test at 0.1 MPa (a, c) and 20 MPa (b, d) in 3.5%NaCl solution (a, b) 1 × 10-6 s-1 (c, d) 5 × 10-6 s-1
Fig.8 Statistics and mean values of the crack size in the fibrous zone
Fig.9 Magnified fracture surfaces of Ni-Cr-Mo-V steel after SSRT test at 1 × 10-6 s-1, showing the dimple in the fibrous zone (a, d, g) and dimple in the shear fracture zone (b, c, e, f, h, i) (a-c) in air (d-f) 0.1 MPa in 3.5%NaCl solution (g-i) 20 MPa in 3.5%NaCl solution
Fig.10 Magnified fracture surfaces of Ni-Cr-Mo-V steel after SSRT test at 5 × 10-6 s-1, showing the dimple in the fibrous zone (a, d, g) and dimple in the shear fracture zone (b, c, e, f, h, i) (a-c) air (d-f) 0.1 MPa in 3.5%NaCl solution (g-i) 20 MPa in 3.5%NaCl solution
Fig.11 Localized corrosion morphologies of the undeformed (a1-a4) and deformed (b1-b3) Ni-Cr-Mo-V steel immersed in 3.5%NaCl solution (a1, b1) corrosion morphologies (a2, a3, b2) magnified images of the red (a2), green (a3), and orange (b2) boxes in Figs.11a1 and b1, respectively; and corresponding EDS mappings of the inclusion (a4, b3) schematics of the pits in Figs.11a1 (a4) and b1 (b3), respectively
Fig.12 Cumulative distributions of the pit size of Ni-Cr-Mo-V steel after immersion in 3.5%NaCl solution for 4 h (a) diameter (b) depth
Fig.13 Differential capacitance curves of Ni-Cr-Mo-V alloy under different conditions
Fig.14 Linear polarization curves (a-d), linear-polarization resistances (Rp) (e), and corrosion current densities (f) of Ni-Cr-Mo-V steel as a function of immersion time in 3.5%NaCl solution under different conditions
Fig.15 Magnified side surface morphologies of Ni-Cr-Mo-V steel after SSRT test at 1 × 10-6 s-1 in air (a), and 0.1 MPa (b) and 20 MPa (c) in 3.5%NaCl solution
Fig.16 Schematic of stress corrosion cracking of Ni-Cr-Mo-V steel under hydrostatic pressure
Fig.17 Concentration of H+ () produced by the hydrolysis of metal ions near the surface of Ni-Cr-Mo-V steel under different conditions (Inset shows local enlargement of curves)
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