Effect of Microstructure on Corrosion Characteristics of Zr-5Nb Alloy

For a better understanding of the correlation between a corrosion and a microstructure, it is necessary to study a phase transformation with an annealing condition for Zr-Nb alloy. Zr-5wt.%Nb alloy with different phase characteristics was prepared with various annealing conditions. A microstructural study and corrosion test were performed to investigate the effect of a phase such as the phase type, fraction, and size on corrosion. The corrosion behavior of the Zr-5Nb alloy was very sensitive to the annealing condition, which affected the formation of the ${\beta}$-phases (${\beta}$-Nb or ${\beta}$. The corrosion rate of the Zr-5Nb alloy annealed at $500^{\circ}C$ with the formation of the ${\beta}$-Nb phase was lower than that of the Zr-5Nb alloy annealed from 600 to $800^{\circ}C$ with the formation of the ${\beta}$-Zr phase. The highest corrosion rate was observed for the ${\beta}$-quenched Zr-5Nb alloy. After a consideration of the corrosion rate and micro structure of the Zr-5Nb alloy, the corrosion resistance of that alloy was improved due to the formation of a small sized ${\beta}$-Nb phase which could be controlled by the annealing condition.

Zr-5Nb 합금의 부식특성에 미치는 미세조직 영향