Synergistic Effect Between Cavitation Erosion and Corrosion for Friction Stir Processed NiAl Bronze in Artificial Seawater

Herein, the friction stir processing (FSP) method was adopted to modify the microstructure of as-cast nickel aluminum bronze (NAB). The microhardness, cavitation erosion-corrosion mass loss, morphological damage and electrochemical tests were extensively examined. The results show that FSP can refine and uniform the microstructure of as-cast NAB alloy. FSP NAB alloy displays enhanced cavitation erosion resistance in distilled water and artificial seawater, as well as heightened sensitive to corrosive media in artificial seawater. Quantitative analysis of the synergistic effect between cavitation erosion and corrosion shows that pure cavitation erosion components contributions largest for as-cast NAB. In contrast, FSP NAB is greatly influenced by the synergistic effect component. The damaged surface shows that cavitation erosion mechanisms of as-cast NAB in distilled water and artificial seawater are similar, which is not the case for FSP NAB due to the synergistic effect between cavitation erosion and corrosion.