Corrosion behavior of low alloy steels in a wet–dry acid humid environment

The corrosion behavior of corrosion resistant steel（CRS） in a simulated wet–dry acid humid environment was investigated and compared with carbon steel（CS） using corrosion loss, polarization curves, X-ray diffraction（XRD）, scanning electron microscopy（SEM）, electron probe micro-analysis（EPMA）, N2 adsorption, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy（XPS）. The results show that the corrosion kinetics of both steels were closely related to the composition and compactness of the rust, and the electrochemical properties of rusted steel. Small amounts of Cu, Cr, and Ni in CRS increased the amount of amorphous phases and decreased the content of γ-Fe OOH in the rust, resulting in higher compactness and electrochemical stability of the CRS rust. The elements Cu, Cr, and Ni were uniformly distributed in the CRS rust and formed CuFeO2, Cu2O, CrOOH, NiFe2O4, and Ni2O3, which enhanced the corrosion resistance of CRS in the wet–dry acid humid environment.

Corrosion Evolution of Low Alloy Steel in Deaerated Bicarbonate Solutions

Corrosion evolution during immersion tests （up to 43 days） of NiCu steel in deaerated 0.1 mol/L bicarbonate solutions was investigated by electrochemical measurements, scanning electron microscopy （SEM） and X-ray diffraction （XRD）. Results show that NiCu steel transformed from the anodic dissolution in the early stage of immersion to a metastable passive state in the final stage as the open-circuit potential value shifted positively, which was aroused by the precipitation of corrosion products. This process was mainly promoted by the trace amount of oxygen. Simultaneously, dominant cathodic reaction transformed from the hydrogen evolution in early stage to reduction processes of corrosion products in later stages. Possible corrosion processes were discussed with the assistance of a corresponding Pourbaix diagram.