Rust Is Not a Must. Improvement of Discs Corrosion Resistance by Tuning of Grey Cast Iron Alloying Elements and Microstructure

Abstract

<div class="section abstract"><div class="htmlview paragraph">The manuscript reports about the corrosion performance of a series of grey cast iron specimens including an increasing concentration of Aluminum as alloying element. An improved corrosion resistance for %Al >1%<sub>wt</sub> is demonstrated and a reasonable corrosion mechanism is proposed as well. Electrochemical techniques allow to calculate a particularly high corrosion potential (E<sub>corr</sub>) for the sample including 4%<sub>wt</sub> Al, equals to -572 mV <i>vs.</i> Saturated Calomel Electrode (SCE). The manuscript is aimed at demonstrating that the fine tuning of alloying elements in cast iron is a particularly effective method in order to improve its corrosion resistance, thus allowing the development of future disc-brake rotors with a prolonged operating life.</div></div>