The purpose of this paper is to study corrosion behavior and corrosion mechanism of carbon steel in natural freshwaters with humic acid (HA).
The weight‐loss method, electrochemical measurements and surface analysis technique were used to study the corrosion behavior of carbon steel in freshwaters with HA.
General corrosion occurred when carbon steel was exposed to test solutions (fresh lake water with and without HA). The presence of HA in test solution can accelerated the corrosion rate of carbon steel.
There have been few reports on the effect of HA on the corrosion behavior of carbon steel. In this study, it is clearly shown that the presence of HA in fresh lake water can accelerate the corrosion rate of carbon steel. This research not only can offer theoretical guidelines for the prevention of pipelines and facilities from corroding, but also can provide a reference for suitable material selection and the further protection of carbon steel in hydraulic engineering.
