On the Rust Products Formed on Weathering and Carbon Steels Exposed to Chloride in Dry–Wet Cyclical Processes

Abstract

The rust products formed on weathering and carbon steels exposed to dry–wet cyclical processes in different chloride-rich solutions are carefully examined by means of different techniques. Special emphasis is given to the methodology of analysis of the data using 300 K and 77 K Mössbauer spectrometry and X-ray diffraction. The rust that is loosely bound to the metal surface and that it is lost during the corrosion process, for both types of steel, was found to be composed of lepidocrocite, superparamagnetic goethite, hematite, and traces of akaganeite. On the other hand, the adherent rust, which is differentiated as scraped and hit according to the way it is obtained, from both steels was found to be composed of akaganeite, spinel phase, goethite exhibiting broad distribution of particle sizes and lepidocrocite. The relative abundances of rust components for both steels were very similar, suggesting similar corrosion processes. Mass loss measurements show that the corrosion rates increases with increasing the chloride concentration. The presence of large quantities of spinel phase and akaganeite are a consequence of a corrosion process under the influence of very high chloride concentrations. Our results are useful for assessing the behavior of weathering steels where the levels of chlorides are high or in contact with sea water.