Corrosion behavior and corrosion products of a low carbon bainite steel in three kinds of typical environments

Wet-dry cyclic accelerated corrosion tests together with XRD, SEM, EDS and N₂ adsorption technology were employed to investigate the corrosion behavior and corrosion products of a low carbon hainite steel. The steel was subjected to three kinds of atmospheric environments, i.e. marine environment, industrial environment and marine industrial environment, which were simulated by corresponding solutions. It is found that the corrosion rates of the low carbon bainite steel are lower than that of the commercial weathering steel 09CuPCrNi in all the three kinds of environments. The corrosion rates of the hainite steel in the three kinds of environments are also different. In the environment containing both Cl^- and SO₃^2- the corrosion is the most serious, while in the environment only containing SO₃^2- the corrosion is the lightest. The distinction of corrosion products in the three kinds of environments is neglectable, while the compact degree of rust layers formed in different environments is obviously different. The more compact the rust layer is, the lower corrosion rate the steel exhibits. There is no serious selective corrosion in the bainite steel for the corrosion has little effect on its tensile mechanical properties.