Corrosion-fatigue behavior of an annealed AISI 1045 carbon steel coated with electroless nickel-phosphorus

The influence of an industrial electroless nickel-phosphorus deposit on the corrosion-fatigue properties of an annealed AISI 1045 steel has been inves tigated. For this purpose, three corrosive media were selected: distilled w ater and two NaCl solutions of different concentration (3 and 5%) in distil led water, Corrosion-fatigue tests were conducted at alternating stress lev els ranging between 219 and 329 MPa at a frequency of 50 Hz. The corrosion- fatigue properties of the coated and uncoated substrates are very similar w hen testing is conducted in salty water. However, for testing in distilled water the corrosion-fatigue properties of coated substrates were diminished in relation to the uncoated material. The fractographic analysis of the fr acture surfaces revealed the presence of fatigue marks within the electrole ss nickel-phosphorus deposit, which indicate that the fracture mechanism of the coating is associated to the cyclic loading of the material.