Characterization of corrosion products on steel surfaces

It is well known that corrosion products, i.e. rust, on iron and steel surfaces cannot be assigned a typical crystallographic structure with long-range order. In fact, the structure of rust is considered to be very complicated, and some forms of rust are assigned to the amorphous state for this reason. Accurate information about the atomic-scale structure of rust is important to shed light on corrosion mechanisms of metallic materials. And, since life of steel structures is often dominated by environmental degradation or corrosion of the surface, the structure of the rust formed on iron and steel surfaces during prolonged exposure to air is of great interest. This book describes the fundamental aspects of materials characterization for the ferric oxyhydroxides formed on steel surfaces. Selected examples, from both the basic science and the applied engineering points of view, are presented. Of special interest is the new structural information on ferric oxyhydroxides containing a small amount of alloying elements. The text relates this to their various states and their role in corrosion processes. This monograph will serve as a valuable guide and source of information for specialists and non-specialists alike.