Considerable fluctuations in the cathodic protection potential under the impact of stray currents lead to the occurrence of local corrosion on steel structures operated in soils and seawater. The potential fluctuations induced by both alternating and direct current sources can be simulated by cycling a square potential step. This paper covers the impact of sign-alternating cyclic polarization (SACP) on the general and local corrosion of carbon steel in 3.5% NaCl solution containing a borate buffer (pH 6.7) and without it. A decrease in the cathodic half-period potential (Ec) of SACP inhibited the general corrosion and accelerates the local corrosion of steel in both solutions, which was associated with an increase in the amount of hydrogen in the metal. Increasing the duration of the SACP cathodic half-period increased the pit density and total area at less negative Ec values. At more negative Ec values, an increase in the duration of cathodic polarization reduced the intensity of steel local corrosion in the unbuffered chloride solution. This effect is explained by blocking of the pit nucleation centers on the metal surface by a layer of steel dissolution products formed in the near-electrode electrolyte layer with a high pH. The combined body of data shows that hydrogen absorption by the metal determines the corrosion behavior of carbon steel under the impact of SACP in chloride solutions, which should be taken into account in the development of models of the corrosion of steel structures under the action of stray currents.
Keywords: hydrogen absorption; low-carbon steel; pitting corrosion; sign-alternating polarization; weight loss.