Electrochemical study on corrosion process characteristics of the high-strength low-alloy steels in NaHSO₃ solution

Abstract

Electrochemical methods were used to study the characteristics of corrosion process for the high-strength low-alloy steel and carbon steel used as a huge oil storage tank in NaHSO₃ solution. The polarization curve results show that both steel samples take place in active solution, and the high-strength low-alloy (HSLA) steel has higher i _corr value than carbon steel, which is due to the small grain size that provides high density of active sites for preferential attack. The electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) results make known that the corrosion process presents two stages. In the first 136 h, one-time constant in EIS diagrams can be shown. Both steels have similar corrosion resistance due to the combination effects of the grain size and microstructure. After 240 h of immersion, a complete passive film forms on the specimen surface, and two-time constants can be shown in EIS diagram. The HSLA steel exhibited improved corrosion resistance when compared with the carbon steel, which is due to the effect of the shape Fe₃C in microstructure and the deposition of FeSO₄ on the electrode surface. The scanning electrode microscopy analyses show that both steels take place in homogenous corrosion, and the carbon steel shows higher surface roughness and many Fe₃C residues. XRD results show that both steels have similar phase constitutes of corrosion products.