Temperature dependence of the electrochemical corrosion characteristics of carbon steel in a salty soil

The electrochemical corrosion characteristics of carbon steel in a salty soil at different temperatures were studied by measurements and analyses of potentiodynamic polarization curves, linear polarization resistance and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The results showed that the mass-transfer of dissolved oxygen plays an essential role in carbon steel corrosion, and the whole corrosion process is mix-controlled by both activation and mass-transfer steps. Passivity can be developed on carbon steel in the soil at low temperatures. With the increase of temperature, the passive current density increases and the passive potential range decreases. When temperature is elevated to a certain value, 50 °C in this system, passivity cannot be maintained and the steel is dominated by an active dissolution status. Anodic Tafel slope decreases continuously with the increase in temperature, which is mainly due to the enhanced electrode reaction rate at an elevated temperature. Simultaneously, cathodic Tafel slope increases with temperature continuously due to the decrease of the solubility of dissolved oxygen in soil. Since the diffusion activation energy is generally much smaller than the reaction activation energy, the effect of temperature on diffusion is far less than that on electrode reaction rate.