Effects of Bacillus sp. adhesion on cavitation erosion behaviour of nickel aluminium bronze in artificial seawater

This study evaluated the cavitation erosion behaviour of a commonly used material in the marine environment, nickel aluminium bronze (NAB), after exposure to the adhesion of Bacillus sp. biofilm in artificial seawater. Results showed that the biofilm could inhibit the corrosion progress, keeping κ phases intact and subsequently allowing the NAB to retain its cavitation erosion resistance. Detailed discussion about the effect of the biofilm on cavitation erosion behaviour of NAB was presented. Furthermore, the importance of the κ phases for resisting cavitation erosion was evidenced by in-situ SEM, and a correlation of the decrease in hardness and the increase in mass loss during cavitation erosion was built.