CORROSION RESISTANCE METHODS FOR STRUCTURAL STEEL BASIC AND TUTORIALS

CORROSION RESISTANCE METHODS FOR STRUCTURAL STEEL BASIC INFORMATION
What Are The Corrosion Resistance Methods For Structural Steel?

Since steel contains three of the four elements needed for corrosion, protective coatings can be used to isolate the steel from moisture, the fourth element. There are three mechanisms by which coatings provide corrosion protection (Hare, 1987):

1. Barrier coatings work solely by isolating the steel from the moisture. These coatings have low water and oxygen permeability.

2. Inhabitive primer coatings contain passivating pigments. They are low-solubility pigments that migrate to the steel surface when moisture passes through the film to passivate the steel surface.

3. Sacrificial primers (cathodic protection) contain pigments such as elemental zinc. Since zinc is higher than iron in the galvanic series, when corrosion conditions exist the zinc gives up electrons to the steel, becomes the anode, and corrodes to protect the steel.

There should be close contact between the steel and the sacrificial primer in order to have an effective corrosion protection.

Cathodic protection can take forms other than coating. For example, steel structures such as water heaters, underground tanks and pipes, and marine equipment can be electrically connected to another metal that is more reactive in the particular environment, such as magnesium or zinc.

Such reactive metal (sacrificial anode) experiences oxidation and gives up electrons to the steel, protecting the steel from corrosion. Figure 3.32 illustrates an underground steel tank that is electrically connected to a magnesium sacrificial anode (Fontana and Green, 1978).

Above is a diagram on Cathodic protection of an underground pipeline using a magnesium sacrificial anode.

STEEL CORROSION BASICS AND TUTORIALS

STEEL CORROSION BASIC INFORMATION
What Makes The Steel Corrode? What Is Steel Corrosion?


Corrosion is defined as the destruction of a material by electrochemical reaction to the environment. For simplicity, corrosion of steel can be defined as the destruction that can be detected by rust formation.

Corrosion of steel structures can cause serious problems and embarrassing and/or dangerous failures. For example, corrosion of steel bridges, if left unchecked, may result in lowering weight limits, costly steel replacement, or collapse of the structure.

Other examples include corrosion of steel pipes, trusses, frames, and other structures. It is estimated that the cost of corrosion of the infrastructure in the United States alone is $22.6 billion each year (corrosion costs web site, 2009).

The infrastructure includes (1) highway bridges, (2) gas and liquid transmission pipelines, (3) waterways and ports, (4) hazardous materials storage, (5) airports, and (6) railroads.

Corrosion is an electrochemical process; that is, it is a chemical reaction in which there is transfer of electrons from one chemical species to another. In the case of steel, the transfer is between iron and oxygen, a process called oxidation reduction.

Corrosion requires the following four elements (without any of them corrosion will not occur):
1. an anode—the electrode where corrosion occurs
2. a cathode—the other electrode needed to form a corrosion cell
3. a conductor—a metallic pathway for electrons to flow
4. an electrolyte—a liquid that can support the flow of electrons


Steel, being a heterogeneous material, contains anodes and cathodes. Steel is also an electrical conductor. Therefore, steel contains three of the four elements needed for corrosion, while moisture is usually the fourth element (electrolyte).

The actual electrochemical reactions that occur when steel corrodes are very complex. However, the basic reactions for atmospherically exposed steel in a chemically neutral environment are dissolution of the metal at the anode and reduction of oxygen at the cathode.

Contaminants deposited on the steel surface affect the corrosion reactions and the rate of corrosion. Salt, from deicing or a marine environment, is a common contaminant that accelerates corrosion of steel bridges and reinforcing steel in concrete.

The environment plays an important role in determining corrosion rates. Since an electrolyte is needed in the corrosion reaction, the amount of time the steel stays wet will affect the rate of corrosion.

Also, contaminants in the air, such as oxides or sulfur, accelerate corrosion. Thus, areas with acid rain, coal-burning power plants, and other chemical plants may accelerate corrosion.