A study of carbon steels in basic pitting environments

Aims to study the behaviour of four polycrystalline carbon steels in basic pitting solutions.

Electrochemical investigations were carried out on four steels: Fe.06C, Fe.18C, Fe.22C and Fe.43C. The analysis was made using an X‐ray fluorescence apparatus. The performance indicator was the pitting potential, which was obtained through potentiodynamic sweeping. Emphasis was placed on the influence of the pH, chlorine concentration, phase proportions in the steel and the initial electrode surface state.

The results showed that in a solution with a low chlorine concentration, the performance of the steels according to pitting corrosion resistance decreased with the increase in carbon content. By raising the chlorine concentration, the order of performance was inverted gradually, while at a high chlorine concentration, the behaviour of the steels tended to be similar. The interpretation of the results is based on the consideration of cathodic reactions on the level of the cementite phase and the difference in the local chemical properties of the solution. In neutral solutions, pitting potentials were shifted cathodically, but the main observations developed for basic solutions remained valid.

Provides further research on pitting corrosion.