Corrosion resistance of high nickel alloys in sea water

Introduction Although nickel is generally regarded as a corrosion resistant material its resistance to sea water is only moderate. In fast flowing sea water its corrosion rate is very low; of the order of 0.0005 in/yr. Under stagnant conditions, however, it is susceptible to pitting and crevice corrosion attack. Consequently, alloying has been a common method of improving corrosion resistance to obtain a material having the excellent resistance of nickel to fast flowing sea water together with an improved resistance to pitting corrosion.