Acta Metallurgica Sinica (English Letters) ›› 2009, Vol. 22 ›› Issue (4): 313-320.DOI: 10.1016/S1006-7191(08)60104-0

• Research paper • Previous Articles    

Electrochemical behavior of microbiologically influenced corrosion on Fe3Al in marine environment

Xueting CHANG, Shougang CHEN, Guanhui GAO,Yansheng YIN, Sha CHENG,Tao LIU   

  1. Institute of Materials Science and Technology, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266100, China
  • Received:2008-08-25 Revised:2008-11-04 Online:2009-08-25 Published:2009-10-10
  • Contact: Yansheng YIN

Abstract:

In this article, microbiologically influenced corrosion behavior of Fe3Al intermetallic compound in microorganism culture medium has been investigated by using weight loss methods, electrochemical techniques, and electron microscopy. Polarization curves showed that a sharp electrical current peak caused by surface pitting could be observed after Fe3Al electrodes were immersed in culture medium for 15 days when the polarization potential was about -790 mV vs SCE. Based on the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and the equivalent circuit parameters of the associated system, the corrosion products were found to exhibit a two-layer structured feature and the microorganisms could induce pitting and erosion corrosion of the inner layer. In addition, the passivating film of the inner layer was absolutely destroyed by microbial metabolic products.

Key words: Electrochemical behavior, Fe3Al, Microbiologically influenced corrosion, Marine