Tensile strength behaviour of steel plates with corrosion-induced geometrical deteriorations

ABSTRACT

Mechanical properties of constructional steel are negatively affected by a corrosive environment which is of special importance for marine structures. This study deals with the change of mechanical properties of butt-welded specimens made of shipbuilding steel when they are exposed to the real marine environment (fresh water, sea water, sea tide) for prolonged periods (6, 12, 24 and 36 months). Results of the study include engineering stress–strain diagrams obtained using uniaxial tensile tests, and give insight into the change of material strength due to the length of exposure and the type of environment. The values of measured Charpy impact energy illustrate the change in material toughness. It can be concluded that the sea tide has the most negative impact on the mechanical properties of the considered steel, while most of the deterioration of properties happens during the first six months in a corrosive environment.

KEYWORDS:

• Shipbuilding steel
• corrosion
• mechanical properties
• marine environment effect

Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the help of former students of the Faculty of Maritime Studies, Anel Kudic and Branimir Mihaljec, in preparing the specimens and performing experiments.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work has been fully supported by University of Rijeka under the projects uniri-technic-18-200 and uniri-technic-18-42.