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Title: Corrosion Behavior of Titanium Grade 7 in Fluoride-Containing NaCl Brines

Conference ·
OSTI ID:837627

Titanium Grade 7 (UNS R52400) is a titanium-based alloy with 0.12-0.25% Pd. The addition of the small amount of palladium is to ennoble the corrosion potential of Ti, thus improving the corrosion resistance of titanium in reducing environments. In most aqueous environments, Ti and Ti alloys demonstrate excellent corrosion resistance due to the protective oxide film that forms spontaneously and remains stable on the surface. However, Ti and Ti alloys are susceptible to corrosion in fluoride-containing environments due to the formation of complexes such as TiF{sub 6}{sup 2-} and TiF{sub 6}{sup 3-}, which are stable and soluble in electrolyte solutions. Without the presence of fluoride, only slight effects from [Cl{sup -}], pH and temperature have been reported [1]. It has been reported that the kinetics of passive corrosion of titanium in neutral solutions and controlled by the migration of the defects in the oxide across the surface film [2]. Thus, the increase in thickness and improvement in film properties, by thermal oxidation, would lead to a significant decrease in the susceptibility to film breakdown and in the passive corrosion rate. This report summarizes recent experiment results in studies of the environmental influence on the corrosion behavior of Titanium Grade 7 (Ti-7) in NaCl brines containing fluoride. The environmental factors to be studied include temperature, pH, chloride and fluoride concentration. This report also includes the effects of oxide film, formed during an anneal treatment, on the corrosion behavior of Ti-7. Polarization measurement techniques including potentiodynamic and potentiostatic scans were use3d to characterize corrosion kinetics and susceptibility. Due to the unique alloying in Titanium Grade 7, the long-term corrosion behavior is heavily influenced by the surface enrichment of Pd. Use of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy in conjunction with a potentiostatic scan will reveal the transformation in the corrosion behavior as a function of Pd enrichment on the metal surface. Surface characterization was done using various analytical techniques including X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Auger electron spectroscopy (AES), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The effect of fluoride ion on the corrosion behavior of Ti-7 is strongly dependent on the solution pH. In neutral (pH 8) and alkaline (pH 11) solutions, fluoride did not affect the corrosion rate significantly even though it altered the anodic polarization curve drastically. With pH decreased to 4, the corrosion rate of Ti-7 was increased significantly by the presence of fluoride.

Research Organization:
Yucca Mountain Project, Las Vegas, NV (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
US Department of Energy (US)
OSTI ID:
837627
Resource Relation:
Conference: 206th Meeting of the electrochemical Society, Honolulu, HI (US), 10/03/2004--10/08/2004; Other Information: PBD: 18 May 2004
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English