Effect of Cold Rolling on the Mechanical Properties and Corrosion Resistance in Hydrofluoric Acid Solution of Inconel 600 Alloy

TL;DR

Cold rolling strengthens Inconel 600 alloy but has minimal impact on its corrosion resistance in hydrofluoric acid.

Contribution

The study demonstrates that cold rolling can enhance mechanical properties without significantly degrading corrosion resistance in aggressive environments.

Findings

Cold rolling increases hardness and strength while reducing ductility in Inconel 600.

80% cold-rolled Inconel 600 achieves an ultimate tensile strength of 1270 MPa.

Corrosion resistance remains stable despite increased deformation-induced pitting.

Abstract

In this study, Inconel 600 alloy with reductions of 20%, 50%, and 80% was obtained through cold rolling, and the effects of plastic deformation on its mechanical properties and corrosion behavior in a hydrofluoric acid (HF) solution were systematically investigated. The results show that cold rolling induces pronounced work hardening, with both hardness and strength increasing continuously with increasing reduction, while the ductility decreases accordingly. The alloy with 80% reduction exhibits the highest strength, with an ultimate tensile strength of 1270 MPa and a yield strength of 1210 MPa. In contrast, the macroscopic corrosion resistance of the alloy in HF solution remains essentially unchanged with increasing deformation, although a slight intensification of pitting corrosion is observed. The combined effects of deformation-induced pitting and passivation enhancement resulted in retention of corrosion resistance. These findings demonstrate that appropriate control of cold rolling enables effective mechanical strengthening of Inconel 600 without significantly sacrificing its corrosion performance in aggressive fluorine containing environments.

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