The performance of steels used for structural and industrial applications is affected by atmospheric corrosion. The study of development of corrosion products in atmospherically exposed steels is very important to understand the corrosion process. A systematic study has been made of the development of corrosion products formed on carbon steel
atmospherically exposed for short times along the Gulf of Mexico. Carbon steel coupons were exposed between I and 12 months at a marine location in Campeche, Mexico, to study the corrosion as a function of time. The environmental parameters were monitored during the exposure period. The resulting corrosion products were analyzed by MOssbauer Spectroscopy, Micro-Raman Spectrometry and X-ray diffraction in order to completely identify the oxides and map their location in the corrosion coating. The most abundant oxides present in the corrosion products were lepidocrocite and goethite as evidenced by in-situ X-ray diffraction and transmission Mossbauer and micro-Raman analysis of the corroded coupons. Akaganeite was absent in the corrosion coatings
even though the exposure site was in a marine environment. In a similar exposure of carbon steel coupons at one of the marine sites prior to this exposure, akaganeite was detected in the corrosion products. However during this present exposure the average chloride concentration was measured to be only...
Keywords : Goethite, Lepidocrocite, Mossbauer spectroscopy, Micro-Raman spectrometry,
Superparamagnetism, Oxide layering