Investigation of corrosion resistance of Ti-6Al-4V alloy welding zoneWelded by TIG method

In this research, the effect of current intensity on the corrosion resistance of Ti-6Al-4V alloy welded by Tungsten-inert Gas (TIG) method was investigated. For this purpose, 3 × 50 × 40 mm specimens were prepared and after preparing the surfaces, in a way but joint two-way single pass in vacuum chamber with inert argon with a flow rate of 70, 80 and 90 A were welded. Microstructural studies of base metal (BM), fusion zone (FZ) and heat affected zone (HAZ) were performed using optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Then, in order to investigate the corrosion resistance of Ti-6Al-4V welded cross sections, the roots of the welded specimens were examined by potentiostatic polarization in seawater and 3.5% NaCl. The results showed that by increasing the welding current intensity from 70 to 80A, the grain size in the weld area as well as the corrosion rate of the weld area in Ti-6Al-4V alloy increased. By varying the flow intensity from 80 to 90A, the corrosion rate and grain size of the weld zone did not change significantly. The corrosion rate of Ti-6Al-4V alloy in 3.5% NaCl solution compared to seawater revealed that the corrosion rate of alloy in 3.5% NaCl solution is higher than its corrosion rate in seawater.