Effects of Heat Treatment on Corrosion of Zr-1.0Nb-1.0Sn-0.1Fe

The effects of annealing at 570oC and 640oC on the microstructural and corrosion characteristics for Zr-1.0Nb-1.0Sn-0.1Fe alloy were elucidated. After annealing at 570oC below the temperature of a monotectoid reaction in the Zr-Nb system, both orthorhombic Zr3Fe and the bcc b-Nb particles were uniformly found and the mean size of the second phase particles was increased with an increasing of the annealing time. In the case of an annealing at 640oC for 2 h above the monotectoid reaction temperature, the Zr3Fe was observed intermittently and after a longer annealing of 1000 h the b-Zr particles were well developed. The corrosion resistance after the 570oC anneal was improved as the annealing time increased, while that after the 640oC anneal decreased as the annealing time increased. The fraction of the tetragonal phase within the ZrO2 oxide increased as the corrosion resistance was improved. It was concluded that the equilibrium Nb concentration and the formation of the tetragonal ZrO2 due to the b-Nb phase would lead to improving the corrosion resistance of the alloy.