Influence of Simulated Electrolyte Droplets with Varied Conductivity on Atmospheric Corrosion of Carbon Steel

doi:10.11902/1005.4537.2025.061

Journal of Chinese Society for Corrosion and protection

2025, Vol. 45

Issue (6): 1537-1548 DOI: 10.11902/1005.4537.2025.061

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Influence of Simulated Electrolyte Droplets with Varied Conductivity on Atmospheric Corrosion of Carbon Steel

LI Zhaonan¹, HOU Yucen¹, JU Peng², ZHUANG Tiegang³, CHEN Jingjie¹, WANG Mingyu¹(

), XU Yunze¹^,⁴

1 School of Naval Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China
2 China National Offshore Oil Corporation (China) Co. Ltd. , Shanghai Branch, Shanghai 200000, China
3 China Power Construction Corporation East China Survey and Design Institute Co. Ltd. , Hangzhou 310000, China
4 National Key Laboratory of Industrial Equipment Structural Analysis and Optimization and CAE Software, Dalian 116024, China

Cite this article:

LI Zhaonan, HOU Yucen, JU Peng, ZHUANG Tiegang, CHEN Jingjie, WANG Mingyu, XU Yunze. Influence of Simulated Electrolyte Droplets with Varied Conductivity on Atmospheric Corrosion of Carbon Steel. Journal of Chinese Society for Corrosion and protection, 2025, 45(6): 1537-1548.

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Abstract

The wire beam electrode technique was systematically employed to investigate the evolution of atmospheric corrosion behavior on carbon steel surfaces under droplets with varying conductivities in laboratory-simulated environments. The experimental results showed that with increasing corrosion time, the local anodic and cathodic currents on the carbon steel surface gradually increased under low-conductivity droplets, while both currents gradually decreased under high-conductivity droplets. When the NaCl concentration inside the droplet was 0.001 mol/L, the anodic and cathodic distributions on the electrode surface appeared relatively random during the initial stage of the experiment. However, when the NaCl concentration exceeded 0.003 mol/L, the distribution of anodic and cathodic currents on the electrode surface exhibited the typical characteristics of the Evans model. Further research revealed that variations in droplet conductivity significantly influenced the mechanisms by which macro-cell and micro-cell currents affected the overall corrosion rate. Under low-conductivity conditions, the macro-cell currents in the cathodic region played a protective role, effectively preventing corrosion. In contrast, under high-conductivity conditions, the cathodic region underwent significant corrosion due to the action of micro-cell currents.

Key words: atmospheric corrosion carbon steel conductivity droplets wire beam electrode

Received: 21 February 2025 32134.14.1005.4537.2025.061

ZTFLH:

TG174

Fund: National Natural Science Foundation of China(52471272)

Corresponding Authors: WANG Mingyu, E-mail: mingyu.w@foxmail.com

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	LI Zhaonan
	HOU Yucen
	JU Peng
	ZHUANG Tiegang
	CHEN Jingjie
	WANG Mingyu
	XU Yunze

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https://www.jcscp.org/EN/10.11902/1005.4537.2025.061 OR https://www.jcscp.org/EN/Y2025/V45/I6/1537

Fig.1 Physical image of the wire beam electrode (a) and schematic diagram of the local electrochemical test experimental setup (b)

Fig.2 Polarization curves of Q355b carbon steel in NaCl solutions with different concentration

Table 1 Fitting electrochemical parameters of polarization curves for Q355b carbon steel in NaCl solutions with different concentration

Fig.3 Cloud maps of current distribution on Q355b carbon steel after corrosion for 1 min (a), 10 min (b), 30 min (c), 60 min (d), 180 min (e) and 300 min (f) under droplets with 0.001 mol/L (a1-f1), 0.003 mol/L (a2-f2), 0.2 mol/L (a3-f3) and 0.5 mol/L (a4-f4) concentration

Fig.4 Surface potential distribution maps of Q355b carbon steel after corrosion for 1 h (a), 2 h (b), 3 h (c), 4 h (d) and 5 h (e) under droplets with 0.001 mol/L (a1-e1), 0.003 mol/L (a2-e2), 0.2 mol/L (a3-e3) and 0.5 mol/L (a4-e4) concentration

Fig.5 Surface morphologies of the wire beam at the initial (a1-d1), final (a2-d2) and after rust removal (a3-d3) corrosion stages under droplets with 0.001 mol/L (a), 0.003 mol/L (b), 0.2 mol/L (c) and 0.5 mol/L (d) concentration and current distribution maps at the end corrosion stage (a4-d4)

Fig.6 Total anodic current distribution diagrams under droplets with 0.001 mol/L (a1-e1), 0.003 mol/L (a2-e2), 0.2 mol/L (a3-e3) and 0.5 mol/L (a4-e4) concentration for 1 h (a), 2 h (b), 3 h (c), 4 h (d) and 5 h (e)

Fig.7 Diagrams of the galvanic current in the anodic region and the proportion of the total anodic current under droplets with 0.001 mol/L (a1-e1), 0.003 mol/L (a2-e2), 0.2 mol/L (a3-e3) and 0.5 mol/L (a4-e4) concentration for 1 h (a), 2 h (b), 3 h (c), 4 h (d) and 5 h (e)

Fig.8 Corrosion mechanism diagrams of metals under droplets with 0.001 mol/L (a), 0.003 mol/L (b), 0.2 mol/L (c) and 0.5 mol/L (d) concentration

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