This study aims to make clear the effect of various Cl⁻ deposition conditions on the changes of corrosion mechanism and electrochemical properties of the rust layer for weathering steel. The results indicate that the corrosion rate in presence of low Cl⁻ deposition is divided into three stages: sharp increase stage, rapid decrease stage and tending to be stable stage. While, the high Cl⁻ deposition process is divided into two stages: sharp increase stage and decrease stage. The increased of Cl⁻ deposition increase the contents of the γ-FeOOH and β-FeOOH and decrease the contents of the α-FeOOH, and then to reduce the corrosion resistance. For the initial corrosion cycles, the increased of Cl⁻ deposition influence the oxygen supply, resulting in spatial heterogeneity of the potential distribution to promote the corrosion reaction. As the prolonged corrosion cycles, the weathering steel of low Cl⁻ deposition forms a protective rust layer to make the potential distribution become relatively uniform to reduce the corrosion rate, while the weathering steel of high Cl⁻ deposition of the potential distribution is more unevenly distributed with distinct low and high potential zones to promote corrosion reaction.

X90 pipeline steel was processed with the simulated coarse grain heat affect zone (CGHAZ) thermal cycle with heat input varying from 30 kJ/cm to 60 kJ/cm, the microstructures were investigated by means of optical microscope (OM), scanning electron microscope (SEM), electron backscattering diffraction (EBSD), and transmission electron microscope (TEM), and the impact properties were evaluated from the welding thermal cycle treated samples. The results indicate that the microstructure is primarily composed of lath bainite. When decreasing the heat input, both bainite packet and block are significantly refined, and the toughness has an increased tendency due to the grain refinement. The fracture surfaces all present cleavage fracture for the samples with different heat inputs. Moreover, the average cleavage facet size for the CGHAZ is nearly equal to the average bainite packet size, and the bainitic packet boundary can strongly impede the crack propagation, indicating that the bainitic packet is the most effective unit in control of impact toughness in the simulated CGHAZ of X90 pipeline steel.

The effect of Si content (0.12%, 0.34%, and 0.48%) on the corrosion behavior of weathering steel in a simulated marine environment was investigated in a dry/wet alternating cycle corrosion experiment. Corrosion weight gain, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and electrochemical methods were used to measure the regularity and nature of the rust. The results show that the corrosion process could be divided into an initial stage where the corrosion rate increased and a later stage where the corrosion rate decreased before remaining stable. The corrosion rate was the lowest for a Si content in the weathering steel of 0.48%. The corrosion products of all three steel groups contains α-FeOOH, β-FeOOH, γ-FeOOH, Fe₃O₄, and large amounts of amorphous compounds. Furthermore, Si benefits the transformation of β-FeOOH and γ-FeOOH to stable phases. The addition of the Si alloying element is beneficial to the formation of dense and compact rust layers that enhance the electrochemical resistance of weathering steel and silicon oxide influences the self-corrosion potential of the corrosion products.

Surface modification is an important technique for maintaining relatively favorable mechanical properties to surface properties and corrosion resistance. In this study, Surface shot peening technology is applied to low alloy steel production nanocrystallines. The microstructure near the surface layer was characterized by x-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy and electron backscatter diffraction. The corrosion behavior of the shot-treated surface layer was analyzed by polarization and pitting test, and the surface morphology of the corroded sample was observed by a scanning electron microscope. The results showed that the surface layer of the alloy after shot peening can be divided into three parts: equiaxed nanoparticle layer (NG), ultrafine grain layer (FG) and elongated fine grain layer (EG). Surface nanocrystallization improved the potential polarization behavior of low alloy steel in 3.5% NaCl solution. The microhardness of the near surface region showed a significant increase compared to the as-received steel sample, showing a more stable electrochemical performance. Shot peening also significantly reduced the pitting rate and maximum pitting depth in 10% FeCl3 solution. The surface nano-layer structure produced by the shot peening process could provide more nucleation sites, thereby improving the uniformity and compactness of the passivation film, resulting in better corrosion resistance. The above experimental results clearly showed that the overall and local corrosion resistance of the low alloy carbon steel in the chloride ion-containing solution can be improved by shot peening.