Corrosion Film Breakdown of Galvanized Steel in Seawater below 25 °C

Galvanized steel is one of the main materials used today due to its mechanical properties and corrosion resistance; among multiple applications, it is used in the construction of metal and concrete structures. Galvanized steel is a material made of carbon steel SAE/AISI 1010 covered with a zinc surface that supplies steel with significant protection against corrosion. Although the physicochemical and electrochemical behavior of galvanized steel has been studied in multiple environments of service under different conditions; very few studies have focused on analyzing the performance of this material below room temperature (25 °C). Clearly, galvanized steel is exposed to low seawater temperatures in environments where the climate temperature is between 25 and 0 °C. This research work evaluates the electrochemical behavior of galvanized steel samples with three different coatings thicknesses (0.0043 g ∙ cm−2, 0.0080 g ∙ cm−2, and 0.0135 g ∙ cm−2) using simulated seawater solution in a temperature range between 0 and 25 °C. The results obtained allow understand better the effect of temperature on the corrosion of galvanized steel exposed in environments at temperatures below 25 °C. The data obtained show that there is an inverse correlation between the thickness of the Zn coating and the corrosion rate; on the other hand, by decreasing the working temperature from 25 to 0 °C, a slight increase in the kinetics of the corrosion process was obtained, this being a result of great relevance in the industry and scientific research.