Abstract
An attempt has been made to study the operative mechanisms which cause the corrosion-fatigue failure of mild steel in marine environments. To achieve this the influence of dynamic cyclic plastic strain on the electrode reactions on mild steel in 0.6 M (3.5% NaCl) at various pH levels has been investigated. Dynamic tensile and compressive strains were observed to enhance significantly both anodic and cathodic reactions. At open-circuit potentials in solutions of pH 1–11 where corrosion-fatigue failure is known to occur, the anodic reaction is stimulated significantly more than the cathodic reaction. At pH 1, where the corrosion-fatigue life is a minimum, the observed dissolution effects are greatest; at other pH values an inverse relationship exists between dissolution effects and corrosion-fatigue endurance. At pH 12, where the material exhibits its dry fatigue properties, enhanced dissolution effects were found to decrease rapidly with progressive strain cycling. It would appear therefore that a link has been established in this system between strain-enhanced dissolution and corrosion-fatigue properties.
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