Corrosion behaviour of hot-rolled 316L stainless steel-A6 carbon steel composite steel plate for marine environment

In this study, a composite steel plate for marine construction was fabricated using 316L stainless steel and A6 carbon steel through hot rolling. Neutral salt spray tests and electrochemical experiments were performed to analyse the corrosion behaviours of the cladding material, the carbon steel substrate, and the interface between stainless steel and carbon steel in a marine atmosphere and seawater. The results showed that an evident elemental overlap region was observed at the composite interface of the composite steel plate. After long salt spray test, the A6 carbon steel part showed significant accelerated corrosion along the interface, resulting in the interface specimens corroding at a faster rate than the carbon steel substrate. However, the composite interface showed better corrosion resistance than the carbon steel substrate in the electrochemical tests. A corrosion resistant layer with a width of 15 μm was found on the stainless-steel side of the composite interface.