Mechanical Properties and Corrosion Behavior of Low Carbon Steel Weldments

Abstract

This research involves studying the mechanical properties and corrosion behavior of “low carbon steel” (0.077wt% C) before and after welding using Arc, MIG and TIG welding. The mechanical properties include testing of microhardness, tensile strength, the results indicate that microhardness of TIG, MIG welding is more than arc welding, while tensile strength in arc welding more than TIG and MIG. The corrosion behavior of low carbon weldments was performed by potentiostat at scan rate 3mV.sec-1 in 3.5% NaCl to show the polarization resistance and calculate the corrosion rate from data of linear polarization by “Tafel extrapolation method”. The results indicate that the TIG welding increase the corrosion current density and anodic Tafel slop, while decrease the polarization resistance compared with unwelded low carbon steel. Cyclic polarization were measured to show resistance of specimens to pitting corrosion and to calculate the forward and reveres potentials. The results show shifting the forward, reverse and pitting potentials toward active direction for weldments samples compared with unwelded sample.

Keywords

• Low carbon steel
• Acr
• MIG and TIG Welding
• mechanical properties of weldments
• corrosion behavior of weldments
• Tafel extrapolation