Experimental study demonstrates chloride-driven tribocorrosion synergy in AISI 316Ti stainless steel, highlighting reduced material longevity in saline environments.
Key Points
To evaluate the synergistic mechanisms of corrosion and wear (tribocorrosion) on AISI 316Ti stainless steel across different sodium chloride concentrations.
Assessed electrochemical behavior and passive film stability in distilled water and 0.9%, 3.5%, and 5% NaCl solutions using potentiodynamic polarization.
Conducted tribocorrosion sliding tests under a 10 N normal load in a ball-on-flat setup with real-time open circuit potential (OCP) and friction coefficient monitoring.
Quantified surface degradation and wear mechanisms using optical 3D profilometry and scanning electron microscopy (SEM).
Increasing NaCl concentration shifted corrosion and pitting potentials toward negative values, amplified cathodic OCP drops during sliding depassivation, and hindered post-sliding repassivation.
Wear area reached 0.0020 mm² in 5% NaCl compared to 0.0009 mm² in distilled water, representing a wear increase of approximately 122%.
Abrasive wear acted as the primary degradation mode across all media, transitioning to delamination wear under aggressive, high-chloride conditions.