Heat Treatment Influence on the Corrosion Resistance of a Cu-Al-Fe-Mn Bronze

Aluminium bronzes are exhibiting good corrosion resistance in saline environments combined with high mechanical properties. Their corrosion resistance is obviously confered by the alloy chemical composition, but it can also be improved by heat treatment structural changes. In the present paper, five Cu-Al-Fe-Mn bronze samples were subjected to annealing heat treatments with furnace cooling, water quenching and water quenching followed by tempering at three different temperatures: 200, 400 and 550 C. The heating temperature on annealing and quenching was 900 C. The structure of the heat treated samples was studied by optical and scanning electron microscopy. Subsequently, the five samples were submitted to corrosion tests. The best resistance to galvanic corrosion was showed by the quenched sample, but it can be said that all samples are characterized by close values of open-circuit potentials and corrosion potentials. Concerning the susceptibility to other types of corrosion (selective leaching, pitting, crevice corrosion), the best corrosion resistant structure consists of a solid solution, g2 and k compounds, corresponding to the quenched and 550 C tempered sample.