Corrosion behaviour of heavily deformed pearlitic and brass-coated pearlitic steels in sodium chloride solutions

Abstract The influence of plastic deformation and galvanic coupling on the microstructure and corrosion behaviour of pearlitic steel and brass-coated pearlitic steel was investigated in sodium chloride solution at 25 °C. Microstructural changes were quantified using scanning electron microscopy coupled with EBSD. Chemical and electrochemical modifications were evaluated using XPS, ZRA, the electrochemical microcell technique and the weight loss method. From these experiments, the influence of microstructural changes on the electrochemical parameters and the corrosion rate was discussed.