In this work, the atmospheric corrosion of carbon steels was monitored at six different sites (and hence, atmospheric conditions) using Fe/Cu-type atmospheric corrosion monitoring technology over a period of 12 months. After analyzing over 3 million data points, the sensor data were interpretable as the instantaneous corrosion rate, and the atmospheric “corrosivity” for each exposure environment showed highly dynamic changes from the C1 to CX level (according to the ISO 9223 standard). A random forest model was developed to predict the corrosion rate and investigate the impacts of ten “corrosive factors” in dynamic atmospheres. The results reveal rust layer, wind speed, rainfall rate, RH, and chloride concentration, played a significant role in the corrosion process.

The corrosion of alloy steels with different amounts of Cr was studied using electrochemical tests, wet–dry cycle corrosion, X-ray diffraction, and Kelvin probe force microscopy. The results show that the content of Cr is positively correlated with the corrosion resistance of bare steel, but the corrosion resistance of atmospheric corrosion does not show the same pattern. The atmospheric corrosion resistance of Cr-containing steel exhibits three different stages with the change of Cr element content. When the Cr content is in the range of 1–4%, the corrosion rate is high and does not change within the Cr content. As the Cr content was further increased from 4 to 7%, the corrosion rate exhibited a linear decrease and then drops rapidly when the Cr content reaches 8%. These three different corrosion rate stages are related to the influence of Cr content on Fe₃O₄ content in the rust layer.