The Effect of Heat Treatment on the Corrosion Rate of Medium Carbon Steel in Seawater from the North Coast of Java

Abstract

This study investigates the effect of various heat treatment processes on the corrosion rate of medium carbon steel AISI 1045 when exposed to a seawater environment. The research aims to understand how different microstructural changes caused by heat treatment influence corrosion resistance. Five types of specimens were prepared: non-heat-treated, annealed, normalized, quenched, and tempered. The corrosion test was conducted using a CorrTest CS300 Potentiostat with seawater as the corrosive medium, and the test duration was 15 minutes for each specimen. The results show that the heat treatment process significantly affects the corrosion behavior of AISI 1045 steel. The annealed specimen exhibited the lowest corrosion rate (0.013 mmpy), while the untreated specimen had the highest (0.069 mmpy). The improved resistance of the annealed sample is attributed to its homogeneous ferrite-pearlite structure and reduced internal stress. In contrast, the quenched specimen showed poor corrosion resistance due to martensitic formation and residual stress. Overall, annealing was found to provide the most effective improvement in corrosion resistance for AISI 1045 steel in seawater environments.

Country : Indonesia

1 Susilo Adi Widyanto2 Agus Suprihanto3 M Ainus Solikhin

  1. Mechanical Engineering Department, Diponegoro University, Semarang, Indonesia
  2. Mechanical Engineering Department, Diponegoro University, Semarang, Indonesia
  3. Mechanical Engineering Department, Diponegoro University, Semarang, Indonesia

IRJIET, Volume 9, Issue 11, November 2025 pp. 275-279

doi.org/10.47001/IRJIET/2025.911035

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