Corrosion of Steel Weldments

Abstract

Abstract Forty-six different steel weldments were subjected to 12 months' alternate immersion in 3 percent sodium chloride solution. Weight loss was more dependent on the type of steel than the nature of the weld, but severity of corrosion in the weld region was affected by both factors. Apparatus was constructed to measure short circuit current between exposed surfaces of parent metal and weld metal. Rapid fluctuations in this current made precise determinations difficult, but average values were reproducible if a set conditioning procedure was used prior to measurement. Variations in current with sodium chloride concentration and with oxygen content of a gas mixture bubbled into the solution were determined, and the activation energy in a 3 percent sodium chloride solution increased from 4 to 6 kcal/mole as the oxygen content of the gas mixture decreased from 100 to 20 percent. 3.7.3