This paper is aimed at investigating the corrosion behavior of Pure and Zinc-graphite particles with percentage of 1, 3, and 5%, respectively. The composites were fabricated by powder metallurgy method. Corrosion tests were performed according to ASTM standard. Corrosion rate was calculated and it is found that in all cases the corrosion rate was decreasing with the increase in exposure time. Meanwhile, the microstructure of composites was imaged and analyzed using optical microscope and scanning electron microscope. It is observed that the best corrosion resistance was zinc with 1% Graphite while Zinc with 3% and 5% Graphite composites did not enhance the corrosion resistance comparing to pure Zinc. 1. Introduction Increasing use of advanced composites materials is being made especially in aircraft and aerospace vehicles. Metal matrix composites (MMCs) are currently being developed as possible structural materials, offering improved elastic modulus, strength, elevated temperature properties, and control over the coefficient of thermal expansion. The resulting high specific properties can provide significant weight saving in many components compared with conventional alloys [1]. The corrosion behavior of the composites in various environments that the material is likely to encounter is one important consideration in choosing a suitable material for a particular application. It follows from the literature that limited work has been done to study the corrosion behavior of MMCs. Though a few studies concerning the corrosion behavior of MMCs state that they suffer severer attack than the respective nonreinforced alloys [2]. It has been established that the corrosion behavior of MMCs is influenced by various factors like composition of the alloy used, the reinforcing particles used, its size and distribution in the matrix, the technique adopted for fabrication, and the nature of interface between the matrix and reinforcement. Even a very small change in any one of these factors can seriously affect the corrosion behavior of the material [3]. Corrosion behavior of zinc composites with nano-CeO2, which were prepared by powder metallurgy method, was reported and it was shown that the corrosion has been improved significantly using mass fraction of 1% of CeO2 [4]. Seah et al. have investigated the corrosion characteristics of cast ZA-27 alloy reinforced with graphite particles (1, 3, and 5% wt) which results in increasing corrosion rate [5]. In the investigation carried out by Seah et al., the effect of the graphite particles content on corrosion behavior of
References
[1]
A. Brown, “How to deposit DLC successfully,” Materials World, vol. 1, pp. 20–26, 1993.
[2]
S. L. Pohlman, “Corrosion and electrochemical behavior of boron/aluminum composites,” Corrosion, vol. 34, pp. 156–162, 1987.
[3]
D. M. Aylor and P. J. Moran, “Effect of reinforcement on the pitting behavior of aluminum-base metal matrix composites,” Journal of the Electrochemical Society, vol. 132, no. 6, pp. 1277–1281, 1985.
[4]
Q. Wang, “Preparation and properties of nano-CeO2/Zn composites,” Transactions of Nonferrous Metals Society of China, p. 623, 2007.
[5]
K. H. W. Seah, F. S. C. Sharma, and B. M. Girish, “Corrosion characteristics of ZA-27-graphite particulate composites,” Corrosion Science, vol. 39, no. 1, pp. 1–7, 1997.
[6]
B. P. Bofardi, “Control of environmental variables in water reticulating systems,” in Metals Handbook, vol. 13 of Corrosion, p. 487, ASM International, Materials Park, Ohio, USA, 9th edition, 1987.
[7]
L. H. Hihara and R. M. Latanision, “Suppressing galvanic corrosion in graphite/aluminum metal-matrix composites,” Corrosion Science, vol. 34, no. 4, pp. 655–665, 1993.
[8]
M. G. Fontana, in Corrosion Engineering, p. 89, McGraw-Hill, New York, NY, USA, 3rd edition, 1987.
[9]
F. Bellucci, “Galvanic corrosion between nonmetallic composites and metals I. Effect of metal and of temperature,” Corrosion, vol. 47, no. 10, pp. 808–819, 1991.
[10]
L. H. Hihara and R. M. Latanision, “Galvanic corrosion of aluminum-matrix composites,” Corrosion, vol. 48, no. 7, pp. 546–552, 1992.
[11]
D. A. Jones and A. J. P. Paul, “Galvanic interactions between alloys and minerals in sulfuric acid,” Corrosion, vol. 50, no. 7, pp. 516–521, 1994.
[12]
G. Schick, “Avoiding galvanic corrosion problems in the telephone cable plant,” in Galvanic Corrosion, H. P. Hack, Ed., ASTM STP 978, pp. 283–290, American Society for Testing and Materials, Philadelphia, Pa, USA, 1988.
[13]
S. M. Wilhelm, “Galvanic corrosion caused by corrosion products,” in Galvanic Corrosion, H. P. Hack, Ed., ASTM STP 978, pp. 23–34, American Society for Testing and Materials, Philadelphia, Pa, USA, 1988.
[14]
V. Brusic, M. Russak, R. Schad et al., “Corrosion of thin film magnetic disk: galvanic effects of the carbon overcoat,” Journal of the Electrochemical Society, vol. 136, no. 1, pp. 42–46, 1989.
[15]
ASTM Standard, “Standard practice for laboratory immersion corrosion testing of metals,” American Society for Testing and Materials G31-72, 2004.
[16]
ASTM Standard, “Standard practice for preparing, cleaning, and evaluating corrosion test specimens,” American Society for Testing and Materials G1-03, 2004.
[17]
S. Xiandong, L. Chengping, L. Zhuoxuan, and O. Liuzhang, “The fabrication and properties of particle reinforced cast metal matrix composites,” Journal of Materials Processing Technology, vol. 63, no. 1–3, pp. 426–431, 1997.
[18]
E. Martinez-Flores, J. Negrete, and G. Torres Villasenor, “Structure and properties of Zn-Al-Cu alloy reinforced with alumina particles,” Materials & Design, vol. 24, no. 4, pp. 281–286, 2003.
[19]
D. Bo？i？, J. Sta？i？, and V. Rajkovi？, “Microstructures and mechanical properties of ZA27-Al2O3 composites obtained by powder metallurgy process,” Science of Sintering, vol. 43, no. 1, pp. 63–70, 2011.
[20]
S. M. Seyed Reihani, “Processing of squeeze cast Al6061–30vol% SiC composites and their characterization,” Materials & Design, vol. 27, no. 3, pp. 216–222, 2006.
[21]
Z. Gnjidic, D. Bozic, and M. Mitkov, “The influence of SiC particles on the compressive properties of metal matrix composites,” Materials Characterization, vol. 47, no. 2, pp. 129–138, 2001.
[22]
H. Wang, R. Zhang, X. Hu, C.-A. Wang, and Y. Huang, “Characterization of a powder metallurgy SiC/Cu-Al composite,” Journal of Materials Processing Technology, vol. 197, no. 1–3, pp. 43–48, 2008.
[23]
W. Feitknecht, “Studies on the influence of chemical factors on the corrosion of metals,” Chemistry & Industry, vol. 36, pp. 1102–1109, 1959.
[24]
S. C. Sharma, D. R. Somashekar, and B. M. Satish, “A note on the corrosion characterisation of ZA-27/zircon particulate composites in acidic medium,” Journal of Materials Processing Technology, vol. 118, no. 1–3, pp. 62–64, 2001.
[25]
S. C. Sharma, K. H. W. Seah, B. M. Satish, and B. M. Girish, “corrosion characteristics of ZA-27/glass-fibre composites,” Corrosion Science, vol. 39, no. 12, pp. 2143–2150, 1997.
[26]
B. Bobi？, S. Mitrovic, M. Babic, and I. Bobi？, “Corrosion of aluminium and zinc-aluminium alloys based metal-matrix composites,” Tribology in Industry, vol. 31, no. 3-4, pp. 44–53, 2009.
[27]
A. K. Yildiz and M. Kaplan, “Corrosion behaviour, microstructure and phase transitions of Zn-based alloys,” Bulletin of Materials Science, vol. 27, no. 4, pp. 341–345, 2004.
[28]
M. G. Fontana, in Corrosion Engineering, p. 236, McGraw-Hill, New York, NY, USA, 3rd edition, 1987.
[29]
L. H. Hihara and R. M. Latanision, “Galvanic corrosion of aluminum-matrix composites,” Tech. Rep., Office of Naval Research, Arlington, Va, USA, 1991.
[30]
M. G. Fontana, in Corrosion Engineering, p. 320, McGraw-Hill, New York, NY, USA, 3rd edition, 1987.
[31]
S. Payan, Y. le Petitcorps, J.-M. Olive, and H. Saadaoui, “Experimental procedure to analyze the corrosion mechanisms at the carbon/aluminum interface in composite materials,” Composites A, vol. 32, no. 3-4, pp. 585–589, 2001.
[32]
M. A. Buonanno, R. M. Latanision, L. H. Hihara, and J. F. Chiang, “Corrosion of graphite aluminum metal matrix composites,” Tech. Rep., Office of Naval Research, Arlington, Va, USA, 1991.
