Report

Of
Project Work
On
Study on corrosion behaviour of mild steel using different environments

By
Mir Ishfaq

Bhagwan Singh Meena

NE14M005

MM14M006

Under the Guidance

Of
Dr. Lakshman N.

DEPARTMENT OF METALLURGICAL AND MATERIALS ENGINEERING

INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
CHENNAI MADRAS- 600036

In the world today, mild steel is used in different Engineering applications for
the production of some automobile components, structural shapes such as
angle iron, wire rods and rebars used in reinforcement concrete. Mild steel is
not expensive and is readily available. It has outstanding ductility and
toughness, high machinability and weld ability which make its applications
possible in the engineering fields. The application for which mild steel was
developed generally did not involve corrosion resistance as a primary
consideration; corrosion resistance of metals and alloys is a basic property
related to the ease with which these metals react with a given environment.
With the increased utilization of this metal in the manufacturing and
construction firms, one of the major problems encountered is the control of
corrosion rate when exposed to different corrosive environments. Corrosion is
a natural process that eats away the metal and may prove catastrophic during
failure in a structure or a design. Corrosion is a natural phenomenon, which is
inevitable; instead it can be controlled to an appreciable extent. For this
control to be implemented certain tests are carried out by placing the metal in
the environment and a careful study of the metals degradation is observed
and assessed for a specified time. Based on the observation and inference
drawn, the corrosion rate can be assessed and a proper measure can be made
to control the rate of corrosion. Since corrosion can never be eliminated,
instead by all human effort can only be controlled or managed. Study on
Corrosion behaviour of materials can lead to minimization of corrosion rate
and hence can prevent any hazard thereof.

Abstract:
This experiment specifically investigated the corrosion rates of mild steel in
concentrated H2SO4, HNO3 and HCL. Also analysis was done on samples kept in
1 Molar solution of each acid.1 Molar solution of NaCl was also prepared and
7th sample was dipped in it and all the samples were kept in these different
environments with a view to determine the most aggressive environment that
may cause heavy loss or degradation of sample. All the samples were kept for
352 hours.8th sample was subjected to hot oxidation and was kept in a furnace
for 3 hours.. The most common method for estimating corrosion rate from

mass loss is to weigh the corroding sample before and after exposure and
divide by the total exposed area and the total exposure time making sure that
appropriate conversion constants are used to get the rate in the required units.
The method in mm/yr can be represented by the following equation.
= ( ) ( )
= Penetration (corrosion) rate (/), = Weight loss in gram, A =
Exposed surface area of Coupon in cm2, = Density of mild steel (/3) =
7.86/3 , T = Time of exposure in hours, k = Constant for unit
conversion = 8.76 104.
Weight loss technique was used in which sample known weight before and
after treating to the respective environments was analysed and results were
collected. The samples were cuboidal in shape with small thickness. The
surface area was simply calculated by the following formula:
S.A=2(lb+bh+hl), where l=length, b=breadth and h=thickness of sample.

Pre experimental work:

1. Take a small sheet of mild steel cuboidal in shape with small thickness.
Prepare eight similar samples of mild steel. Use a power driven hacksaw
to cut the samples.
2. Clean the samples with cloth. Remove the grease and dirt. Quench the
excessive heat using water.
3. Now polish the samples using belt grinder to remove the rust. Remove
any curvature and surface roughness. Also use emery papers for fine
polishing. Remove any inhomogeneity in the samples and make all the
samples as mirror finished ones.
4. Pour 250 ml concentrated H2SO4, HNO3, HCL acids in beaker no.1, 2 and 3
and one Molar each acid in beaker no.4,5 &6 respectively. Also make 1
molar solution of NaCl in beaker no.8.While making dilute solutions, pour
acid in water to avoid any splashing.
5. Stir all the solutions well using a glass rod and allow complete dissolution
of NaCl in distilled water
6. Weigh and measure all the dimensions of each specimen using a digital
balance and a digital calliper.

Fig.1 measuring acid volume and making 1 molar solution

7. Now weigh all the samples one by one and note down the dimensions
also. Calculate surface area of each sample and make table as given
below.
Sample
No.
1.

Weight(g)
6.530

length(in
mm)
23.84

Breadth
(in mm)
18.94

Thickness(i Surface
n mm)
area(mm2)
1.87
1063.0564

Surface
area(cm2)
10.6305

2.

7.105

22.2

21.60

1.90

1125.48

11.2548

3.

4.9089

21.77

15.49

1.92

817.513

8.17513

4.

5.180

23.20

15.18

1.93

852.4988

8.5250

5.

6.138

21.40

19.32

1.96

986.5184

9.8652

6.

5.3286

23.58

15.87

1.92

829.830

8.2983

7.

4.920

22.57

15.34

1.90

836.50

8.3650

8.

6.972

22.35

21.68

1.91

1054.472

10.54472

TABLE 1.1

Experimental work
1. Label all the beakers with sample numbers. Pour concentrated
H2SO4, HNO3 and HCL acids in beaker number 1,2 and 3 respectively.
Now put 1 molar H2SO4 in beaker no.4,one molar HNO3 in beaker
number 5 and one molar HCL in beaker no.6.Also make 1 molar NaCl
solution in beaker no.7.
2. Put all the samples in their respective beakers i,e. all the sample
numbers from 1 to 7 in their respective beaker numbers. Drop them
slowly.
3. Keep the beakers in a separated area. Allow the fumes to escape
generated due to the reaction between metal and acid.
4. For sample no.8, switch on the muffle furnace and keep the
sample inside the furnace for 2 hours at 700C.Now after two hours
take the sample out of the furnace and measure its final weight W2.
5. For sample numbers from 1 to 7, wait for 15 days(352 hours) and
after that take samples out of the beakers and allow them to dry in
an oven.
6. Measure the final weight W2 of all the samples. Make a table of all
the results and analyse each one.
7. Calculate corrosion rate of each sample using the above formula
and note down the inferences.
8. Through this method we can analyse the severity of corrosion for
each sample in each environment and we can anticipate the
immunity (passivity) of sample which has least mass difference.
9. We hence are now making the table for results.

Sample
No.

Initial
Weight
(W1 g)

Final
Weight
(W2 g)

Weight
Area of
Time of
Corrosion
loss/mass specimen exposure( rate in
difference (in cm2)
in hours) mm/year
(W g)

1.

6.53

6.480

0.05

10.6305

352

0.14892

2.

7.105

6.836

0.269

11.2548

352

0.75675

3.

4.9089

4.9089

8.17513

352

Sample
dissolved
completely

4.

5.18

0.843

4.337

8.5250

352

16.1077

5.

6.138

4.341

1.979

9.8640

352

6.3515

6.

5.3286

5.136

0.1926

8.298

352

0.73485

7.

4.920

5.005

0.085

8.365

352

0.321

8.

6.972

6.626

0.346

10.54

182.85

Table 1.2

Inferences and conclusion

1. Sample No.8 and sample no.4 showed highest corrosion rate
2. Lowest corrosion rate was found in sample no.1.This was because
of passivity of film which protected sample from further corrosion.
3. Sample 3 got completely dissolved. After 15 days the acid in
beaker had turned black due to complete deterioration of mild steel.
4. In sample No.4, a bluish precipitate was formed. Upon slight
heating, it changed into white. The precipitate formed was iron
sulphate heptahydrate (Fes047H2O)
The photograph of the final samples is below:

Fig.1.2

References
1. W. D. Callister, "Material Science and Engineering and
Introduction", John Willy and sons Inc. 4th Edition, pp. 550-554, 1997
2. Corrosion Wikipedia.
3. E. A. Noor, A. H. Al-Mubarak, Corrosion Behaviour of Mild Steel in
Hydrochloric Acid, International Journal on Electrochemistry and
science, Vol.3, pp.806-818, 2008
4. E. N. Wami, "Investigation of Underground Corrosion of Mild Steel
and Carbon Steels", Journal of school of Engineering RSUST, NJTE
Vol.15, No.1, pp.7-8, 1990.
5. S. Syed, Atmospheric Corrosion of Materials. Emirates Journal for
Engineering Research, 11 (1), 2006, 1-24.