Electrolytic accelerated corrosion morphology for structural steel based on an improved solution

Abstract Atmospheric corrosion degrades the mechanical properties of steel structures mainly because of stress concentrations caused by an uneven corrosion topography. Electrolytic corrosion is regarded as one of the most efficient indoor accelerated corrosion approaches, while, the uneven atmospheric corrosion topography usually cannot be well simulated by electrolytic corrosion. This study aims to introduce an electrolytic corrosion solution suitable for simulating atmospheric corrosion. The surface morphologies of the structural steel specimens after electrolytic corrosion in three different solutions under various electrification time and magnitude of the current were compared. The surface characteristics of the corroded steel plates were measured by a 3D noncontact surface topography scanner, and analyzed based on surface roughness theory and fractal theory. The results showed that the mixed solution of 0.5% CH 3 COONa and 0.2% NaCl will produce pitting corrosion on the steel surface, and the surface morphologies of the steel specimens after electrolytic corrosion were consistent with that of neutral salt spray accelerated corrosion test. It is verified that the electrolytic accelerated corrosion in such a solution can simulate actual atmospheric corrosion reasonably.