CORROSION PERFORMANCE OF 1014 MILD AND 304 STAINLESS STEELS IN ACIDIC MEDIA

Abstract

Corrosion is a degradation of metallic materials under the action of the environment which requires oxygen and moisture to occur. This research work determined the corrosion performance of 1014 low carbon and 304 austenitic stainless steels in different concentration of acidic media. Corrosion tests were carried out using gravimetric technique. One hundred and eighty samples of the metals were prepared and immersed in containers of sulphuric acid (H₂SO₄), hydrochloric acid (HCl) and nitric acid (HNO₃) at 1, 2 & 3 M. The samples were then removed every three days for a period of 15 days to measure the weight loss. These were used to calculate the corrosion rates. The chemical analysis was determined using an Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX).  Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) was used to determine the texture of the samples. The results showed that the corroded samples had pitting corrosion damage and cracks propagated generally on the sample surfaces. The corrosion rates of the samples increased with increase in molarities of the reagents, Stainless steel samples had the least corroded surfaces. The study concluded that the higher the level of concentration of acidic media (1 to 3 M), the higher the corrosion rates of samples in increasing order of HNO₃, HCl and H₂SO₄ especially for mild steel sample (4.35 to 17.90, 0.21 to 2.90 and 10.37 to 0.64 mm/y) after 360 hours of immersion respectively.