EIS study of the corrosion behaviour of zinc-based coatings on steel in quiescent 3% NaCl solution. Part 1: directly exposed coatings

The possibilities offered by the EIS technique for studying the progress of corrosion in several types of galvanised coatings were investigated. Corrosion tests were performed in a 3 wt.% NaCl aqueous solution, at approximately neutral pH, without stirring and in contact with the air. A tendency was seen towards an electrochemical overestimation of the corrosion values of essentially pure zinc and Zn-5%Al (Galfan) coatings compared with the gravimetric reference values. In contrast, the opposite tendence was revealed with the Zn-10%Fe (Galvanneal) coating. These deviations have made it necessary to use empirical values of the constant B of the Stern-Geary equation. The approximately linear progress of the attack with immersion time suggests a slight barrier effect of the corrosion products layer. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.