Effects of temperature on acceleration and simulation of indoor corrosion test of Q235 carbon steel

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to study the influence of temperature on the acceleration and simulation of indoor corrosion tests and the corrosion behavior of Q235 carbon steel. Design/methodology/approach The indoor corrosion test was carried out by continuous salt spray in a salt spray chamber. Weight loss analysis, X-ray diffraction, cannon 1500 D, scanning electron microscopy and electrochemical techniques are used to analyze the results. Findings It was found that thickness loss of Q235 carbon steel increases with higher temperature and it can reach 0.095 mm at 50°C. Compared with the Xisha exposure test, the acceleration rate can achieve 230 times. This phenomenon indicates that decreasing the experimental temperature is beneficial to the anti-corrosion of the Q235 carbon steel. It is fascinating to find that acceleration and simulation increase with temperature simultaneously, which shows that β -FeOOH promotes the corrosion rate and α -FeOOH provides high simulation. Meanwhile, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy indicates that the resistance of the rust layer improves with temperature. Practical implications Through the study, the authors found that with the increase of temperature, the acceleration and simulation of indoor corrosion test improved, corrosion products and kinetics are the same as those in outdoor exposure test, and which means that the laboratory can achieve the long-term corrosion degree of outdoor exposure in a short time, and the similarity with outdoor exposure is high. This helps to the study of marine atmospheric corrosion, and indoor accelerated corrosion tests can largely eliminate regional differences by adjusting some environmental factors, and lay a foundation for marine atmospheric corrosion. Originality/value The effects of temperature on the acceleration and simulation of indoor corrosion tests are discussed. Through laboratory experiments, the long-term service life of Q235 carbon in the Xisha marine atmosphere can be predicted effectively.