Corrosion. Corrosion Resistance and Rust Structure of Weathering Steels and Iron Antiquities.

In this investigation, the structure of a rust layer on iron and steel materials exposed to atmospheric and soil environments for a long peroid, up to approximately 1600 years, is discussed. It is found that the rust constituents change with exposure time. The rust layer transforms and stabilizes to α-FeOOH. It can be pointed out that the structure of a rust layer suggests the environmental condition in which the materials have been preserved.