Atmospheric Corrosion Studies of Ductile Iron and Austenitic Stainless Steel in an Extreme Marine Environment

摘要

This paper presents the corrosion characteristics and the accompanying changes in the microstructure of unalloyed duc-tile iron (DI) and austenitic stainless steel (ASS) in table salt medium representing an upper limit in an extreme marine environment. The individual corrosion rates of DI and ASS was evaluated for the maximum time period of 1200 hr. Using the immersion test technique, the corrosion rate of DI was evaluated and found to be four-orders of magnitude greater than that of ASS. The corrosion product morphologies of the DI showed that the nodular matrix was gradually covered up as immersion time progressed while the corrosion channels and volume of pits that initially formed in ASS respectively deepened and increased with increased exposure time. This work is important as a reference point for the quantification of the corrosion effectiveness of alloying DI. The microstructures of the corroded samples showed corro-sion initiation and gradual accumulation of corrosion products.