Abstract
Hydrogen permeation into high-strength steel during the corrosion process can deteriorate their mechanical properties, thus seriously threatening the safety of steel structures. However, the hydrogen permeation behavior of steels in corrosive marine environments is not well understood. In this study, the hydrogen permeation behavior and mechanism of AISI 4135 steel in different marine corrosion zones was investigated for the first time using an in situ hydrogen permeation monitoring system via outdoor and indoor tests. The three-month outdoor hydrogen permeation test showed that the diffusible hydrogen content of the steels exposed to the marine atmospheric, splash, tidal and immersion zone was 3.15 × 10−3, 7.00 × 10−2, 2.06 × 10−2 and 3.33 × 10−2 wt ppm, respectively. Meanwhile, results showed that the hydrogen permeation current density was positively correlated with the corrosion rate of the steel in the marine environments. This research is of great significance for guiding the safe application of high-strength steel in the marine environments.
Highlights
With the development of the iron and steel manufacturing industry, high-strength steel has been gradually used in various industries such as civil buildings, energy transportation and marine engineering due to its superior mechanical properties
Hydrogen permeation behavior and the mechanism of AISI 4135 steel in different marine corrosion zones were investigated using an in situ hydrogen permeation monitoring system via outdoor and indoor hydrogen permeation tests
Hydrogen permeation into steel during corrosion in different marine corrosion zones can be evaluated with good accuracy through the collected hydrogen permeation current data during outdoor testing
Summary
With the development of the iron and steel manufacturing industry, high-strength steel has been gradually used in various industries such as civil buildings, energy transportation and marine engineering due to its superior mechanical properties. High-strength steel endures severe corrosion and other potential threats during its service in offshore engineering facilities, owing to the harsh marine environments. Among these threats, the mechanical degradation of steel caused by hydrogen permeation during the corrosion process has received widespread attention in the last few decades [1–4]. Over the past few decades, important progress has been made on understanding the hydrogen permeation behavior of steel in atmospheric environments [14,19–21], but relevant information on such behavior of steel in more complex and harsh marine environments remains limited. The electrochemical hydrogen permeation test was performed in outdoor marine environments using an in situ monitoring system developed by the authors to investigate the hydrogen permeation behavior of AISI 4135 steel in different marine corrosion zones. Combined with a laboratory test, the hydrogen permeation mechanism of steels in marine environments was analyzed
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