Effects of Carbon Content and Microstructure on Corrosion Property of New Developed Steels in Acidic Salt Solutions

New steels with different carbon contents were self-developed by thermo-mechanical controlled processing. The effects of the carbon content and the microstructure on the corrosion properties of new steels were investigated by immersion test and SEM. The results indicated that the ferrite phase (both the proeutectoid and eutectoid ferrite) dissolved preferentially. Cementite reserved and accumulated on the surface. As carbon content increased, the content of ferrite decreased and cathode/anode area ratio increased. Therefore, the corrosion rate of new steels increased from 0.30 to 0.90 mm/years when the carbon content rose from 0.05 to 0.13 wt%. The corrosion process of new steels was studied using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy experiments during 72 h. It indicated that the impedance modulus |Z|0.01 Hzof the new steels reduces with the increase of the immersion time. While the corrosion process of the new steel with 0.11 wt% C developed faster than that with 0.07 wt% C, although their |Z|0.01 Hzwas similar at the initial stage.