CORROSION OF CU-NI ALLOYS-706 AND ALLOYS-715 IN FLOWING SEA-WATER .2. EFFECT OF DISSOLVED SULFIDE

The corrosion of 90:10 Cu:Ni and 70:30 Cu:Ni alloys in sulfide polluted flowing sea water was studied as a function of sulfide concentration. It is shown that the presence of sulfide induces a loss in passivity of the alloy surface due to the formation of cuprous sulfide as the principal corrosion product. Furthermore, accelerated corrosion of these materials in sulfide polluted sea water appears to arise from a shift in the corrosion potential to sufficiently active values that hydrogen evolution becomes a viable cathodic process.