Effect of Chemical Composition and Microstructure Parameters on Carbon and Low-Alloy Steel Corrosion Resistance

Abstract

An improvement in resistance to overall and local corrosion in neutral aqueous media with hydrogen index pH 6–8 is important for numerous structures operating under atmospheric conditions, in sea water, for heating network pipelines, oil industry pipelines (oil pipelines and water conduits), and many other forms of structure and equipment. Under these conditions, corrosion proceeds by a classical electrochemical mechanism. Today, there is no single point of view for the optimum chemical composition and microstructure for steels for simultaneous provision of good corrosion resistance in aqueous media and satisfactory mechanical properties. In this work, the effect of chemical composition and microstructure parameters on corrosion resistance of carbon and low-alloy steels of strength classes K52–K60 in aqueous media is studied with the aim of developing specifications for these properties in order to increase the operating life of steel equipment, in particular oil industry pipelines.