THE EFFECT OF HEAT TREATMENT ON THE
CORROSION BEHAVIOR OF MEDIUM CARBON
STEEL IN SEA WATER AND FRESH WATER (RAIN
WATER)
Group 7
• Parkudja, Oliver (7269221)
• Darko, Doris Owuriedua (7277021)
• Atuahene, Romeo Asante (7276121)
Supervised by:
Prof. Samuel Kwofie
1
OUTLINE
Introduction
Problem statement
Literature Review
Aims and Objectives
Methodology
Results and Discussion
Conclusion
2
INTRODUCTION
What Is Corrosion?
Figure:1 Corroded steel Figure:2 Electrochemical corrosion of steel
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INTRODUCTION
• Medium carbon steel is a type of carbon steel with a carbon content ranging from 0.30-0.60.
• The heat treatment processes used in this project are;
1. Normalizing
2. Quenching
Figure:3 Normalizing process Figure:4 Quenching process
4
PROBLEM STATEMENT
A prominent problem in engineering is corrosion. Corrosion leads to the loss of structural integrity
and mechanical properties of steels thereby causing potential failures in infrastructure and
components, especially in marine environment.
Figure:5 Corroded steel Figure:6 Corroded steel
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LITERATURE REVIEW
Renu Kumari, Priyanka Bharti, and Promod Kumar. Study on the effect of Heat-Treatment on Microstructure and Corrosion Resistance of 0.6%
Carbon steel.
INTRODUCTION AND METHODS
Investigating the effect of heat treatment on the microstructure and corrosion resistance of 0.6%
carbon steel.
0.6% carbon steel was used as substrate material.
Heating of the samples were done at 910 °C for 2 h then furnace cooling (annealing), air cooling
(normalizing) and water quenching (quenching) were done.
Metallographic examination was carried out on the samples.
The corrosion properties in terms of corrosion rate was analyzed by weight loss method in 3.5wt.%
NaCl solution.
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LITERATURE REVIEW
Renu Kumari, Priyanka Bharti, and Promod Kumar. Study on the effect of Heat-Treatment on Microstructure and Corrosion Resistance of 0.6%
Carbon steel.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION.
Untreated steel. Annealed steel Normalized steel Quenched steel
Fig:7 Ferrite and Fig:8 Coarse pearlite Fig:9 Fine pearlite and
Fig:10 Martensite
pearlite structure and coarse ferrite fine ferrite
Table:1
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LITERATURE REVIEW
Renu Kumari, Priyanka Bharti, and Promod Kumar. Study on the effect of Heat-Treatment on Microstructure and Corrosion Resistance of 0.6% Carbon
steel.
CONCLUSION
Heat treatment refines the microstructure of 0.6% C steel. Quenched samples form martensite, while as-
received, annealed, and normalized samples contain ferrite and pearlite (with coarser grains in annealed
steel).
Heat treatment improves corrosion resistance, with the quenched steel performing best, followed by
annealed and normalized, and the as- received steel performing worst.
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AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
Aim
To determine how normalizing and quenching alter the microstructure of medium carbon steel and
subsequently affects its corrosion behavior.
Objectives
1. Sample collection and sample preparation
2. Heat treatment processes
3. Usage of an optical microscope to determine the microstructure of the medium carbon steel.
4. Determination of corrosion rate using tafel extrapolation after potentio-dynamic polarization test.
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METHODOLOGY
Materials needed;
Sea water and Fresh water
Ethanol or acetone
Rolled medium carbon steel Abrasive papers
Angle grinder Mass balance
Optical microscope
Calibrated measuring cylinder
Etchant(Nital)
Storage containers
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METHODOLOGY
Rolled medium carbon Angle grinder Heat treatment
steel processes
Metallographic
Corrosion test
examination
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METHODOLOGY
Metallographic examination MASS SPECTROMETRY TEST RESULTS
Mounting of specimen.
The use of abrasive papers.
Polishing of specimen surface.
Etching.
Microscopic examination
Table:2
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RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
MICROSTRUCTURES OF THE STEEL SAMPLES AS VIEWED UNDER AN OPTICAL
MICROSCOPE
Untreated sample Normalized sample Quenched sample
Fig:11 Coarse pearlite Fig:12 Ferrite and fine Fig:13 Martensitic
and ferrite microstructure pearlite microstructure microstructure
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RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
This is the plotted graph
for the normalized steel
sample in fresh water. The
extrapolated Ecorr value is
-0.074835.
The Icorr value is -6.8277.
Figure:14 A plot of E against Logi 14
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
This is the plotted graph for
the normalized steel sample
in sea water. The
extrapolated Ecorr value is -
0.46889.
The Icorr value is -5.2074.
Figure:15 A plot of E against Logi 15
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
This is the plotted graph for
the quenched steel sample
in sea water. The
extrapolated Ecorr value is -
0.65082.
The Icorr value is -5.2261.
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Figure:16 A plot of E against
Logi
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
This is the plotted graph
for the untreated steel
sample in fresh water. The
extrapolated Ecorr value is
-0.48669.
The Icorr value is -6.3163.
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Figure:17 A plot of E against
Logi
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
This is the plotted graph for
the untreated steel sample in
sea water. The extrapolated
Ecorr value is -0.56850
The Icorr value is -5.2421.
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Figure:18 A plot of E against Logi
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
This is the plotted graph
for the quenched steel
sample in fresh water. The
extrapolated Ecorr value is
-0.42319.
The Icorr value is -5.9679.
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Figure:19 A plot of E against Logi
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
These graphs are a merged form
of the individual corrosion graphs
without any tafel extrapolation.
Figure:20 A plot of E against Logi 20
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
STEEL CONDITION ELECTROLYTES CORROSION
RATES(mm/yr)
Untreated steel Sea water 70.766
Normalized steel Sea water 69.026
Quenched steel Sea water 76.652
Quenched steel Fresh water 12.508
Normalized steel Fresh water 1.771
Untreated steel Fresh water 6.499
Table:3
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CONCLUSION
A more stable, uniform microstructure, such as that achieved through normalizing, provides the best
corrosion resistance. However, highly stressed (quenched) and untreated microstructures are more
prone to corrosion, particularly in aggressive environments like sea water.
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REFERENCES
Kumari, R., Bharti, P., & Kumar, P. (2022). Study on the effect of heat-treatment on microstructure
and corrosion resistance of 0.6% carbon steel. In R. Kumari, P. Bharti, & P. Kumar (Eds.), Recent
advances in manufacturing processes (pp. 41-47). Springer.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-3686-8-3.
Honeycombe, R. W. K. and Bhadeshia, H. K.. D., 1995. Steels: Microstructure and Properties, 2 nd ed.,
Edward Arnold, London.
Bedmar, J., Garcia-Rodriguez, S., Roldan, M., Torres, B., & Rams, J. (2022). Effects of the heat
treatment on the microstructure and corrosion behavior of 316L stainless steel manufactured by Laser
Powder Bed Fusion.
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THANK YOU
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