Investigation on Preferential Corrosion of Welded Carbon Steel Under Flowing Conditions by EIS

Carbon steels are used extensively in construction of oil and gas pipes but they exhibit poor corrosion-resistance properties because of internal corrosion. In this research, a rotating cylinder electrode apparatus was designed so that electrodes machined from the weld metal, heat-affected zone, and parent material of a welded X65 pipeline steel could be tested in high shear stress conditions using electromechanical impedance spectroscopy. The aim was to investigate the cause of the severe localized corrosion that sometimes occurs at welds in carbon steel pipelines carrying hydrocarbons and inhibited brine solutions saturated with carbon dioxide. It was concluded that the surface films play an important role in effective inhibition, and this inhibition is more effective on a clean surface rather than on a precorroded one.