The synergistic effect of wear-corrosion in stainless steels: A review

The consequence of coupling wear (erosion/abrasion) and corrosion is not just simply the sum of wear in the absence of corrosive medium and corrosion in absence of wear. The so-called synergistic effect implies that corrosion is accelerated due to the removal of the passivating layer because of wear. On the other hand, corrosion can accelerate abrasion when the electrochemical dissolution yields a brittle surface layer which can be subsequently removed by abrasion. The synergism between wear and corrosion is complex and the interaction between mechanical and chemical factors governing tribocorrosion is not yet fully understood. This review aims at providing a general and thorough summary of the wear-corrosion interaction focused on stainless steels due to the technological relevance of these materials. It is taken into consideration the influence of the key parameters affecting wear-corrosion, such as the stainless steel type, slurry characteristics (temperature, pH, solid concentration), the erodent properties (particle size and shape), etc. The different models to describe wear-corrosion and the most used apparatus for tribocorrosion testing are also reviewed.