Mechanism of corrosion behavior between Pb-rich phase and Cu-rich structure of high Sn–Pb bronze alloy in neutral salt spray environment

The corrosion behavior and corrosion mechanism of the Pb-rich phase and Cu-rich structure of the Sn–Pb bronze alloy in a high-chloride and high-humidity environment were studied. The phase composition of the bronze alloy was analyzed by observing the metallographic and EPMA element distribution, the potential of the microstructure was characterized by SKPFM. The corrosion products and morphology results after electrochemical and neutral salt spray tests were analyzed. The results showed that the matrix structure of bronze material was composed of Pb-rich phase and Cu-rich structure (α(I) phase and (δ+α(II)) eutectoid). During the corrosion process, the rich Pb phase preferentially corroded as the anode and diffused towards the surroundings, while the rich Cu structure served as the cathode. In the rich-Cu structure, compared with δ, the α phase was used as the anode. The corrosion products on the alloy surface mainly included Cu2O, PbCO3, and Cu2(OH)3Cl. As the corrosion gradually deepened along the depth of α phase, the galvanic couple effect between α phase and δ phase and the “oxygen concentration cell” effect gradually increased.