Electrochemical polarization measurements on pitting corrosion susceptibility of nickel-rich Alloy 825

Alloy 825 contains approximately 40% Ni, 30% Fe, 20% Cr, 3.5% Mo, 2% Cu, and 1% Ti. Alloy 825 has a number of performance features that make it attractive as a candidate material for nuclear waste containers. However, under certain environmental conditions Alloy 825 is susceptible to localized forms of corrosion, and the focus of this paper is determination of those conditions. Electrochemical polarization was used to determine the critical potential for passive film breakdown, a process which leads to localized corrosion attack. Results indicated that quite high levels of chloride ion concentrations coupled with low pH are required to lower the critical potential to approach the corrosion potential.