What Does
Dispersion Strengthening Mean?
Dispersion strengthening refers to the process of increasing the toughness of a metallic object by introducing a second phase through the addition of an alloying element. This is done to increase the strength of metallic objects subject to corrosion.
Corrosionpedia Explains Dispersion Strengthening
Dispersion strengthening occurs when a significant concentration of a second alloying metal is added to another core metal, which results in exceeding the base material's solubility limit. Ultimately, a second phase is formed due to the generation of a two-phase alloy. The boundary meeting point of the two phases occurs, with an imperfect atomic alignment and slip dislocations.
Corrosion and metal strength have an empirical relationship. When corrosion reduces the thickness of a metallic object it directly impacts the strength of the metal. The smaller the surface area, the greater the reduction of tensile strength. The strength of a metal is not evenly distributed when localized corrosion occurs due to surface area cracking. Moreover, some corrosive environments, such as those with a high temperature, high levels of carbon dioxide or hydrogen sulfide, or high chloride content can dramatically degrade a material's strength. Therefore, dispersion strengthening techniques may be used to improve the strength uniformity on such surfaces.