APPLICATION OF THE SCANNING KELVIN PROBE METHOD FOR EARLY-STAGE CORROSION DETECTION IN PIPELINE STEEL
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
Unveiling corrosion mechanisms and enhancing material durability require a shift from evaluating integral characteristics to analyzing processes at the micro-level. This study aims to establish a correlation between the spatial distribution of the electron work function (EWF) on the steel surface and the localization of corrosion damage sites using the Scanning Kelvin Probe (SKP) method. Experiments on a pipeline steel sample in a NaCl solution demonstrated that the SKP method can detect the onset of pitting corrosion by mapping the EWF distribution. As a result, a correlation was established between local variations in the EWF and the initiation of corrosion, enabling the diagnosis of material degradation at a pre-critical stage, long before visible defects appear. Thus, this work confirms that the SKP method serves as a highly informative tool for the micro-level analysis of corrosion mechanisms. A direct continuation of this research involves applying the SKP method to study the corrosion kinetics of pipeline steel in simulated and natural soil electrolytes to develop predictive models and corrosion hazard maps.
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
References
Romaniuk, V.N., Niyakovskii, A.M., Strutsky, N.V., & Svistun, A.L. (2025). Pochvenno-gruntovye faktory, vliyayushchie na protsess korrozii stal'nykh podzemnykh truboprovodov, i ikh komp'yuternoe modelirovanie [Soil and ground factors affecting the steel underground pipelines corrosion process and their computer simulation]. Energetika. Izvestiya vysshikh uchebnykh zavedenii i energeticheskikh ob"edinenii SNG, 68(3), 230–244. (In Russ., abstr. in Engl.). DOI: 10.21122/1029-7448-2025-68-3-230-244.
Zharin, A.L. (2010). Contact Potential Difference Techniques as Probing Tools in Tribology and Surface Mapping // Scanning Probe Microscopy in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology. – Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag. – Р. 687–720.
Yasakau, K. (2020). Application of AFM-based techniques in studies of corrosion and corrosion inhibition of metallic alloys. Corrosion and Materials Degradation, 1(3), 345–372. DOI: 10.3390/cmd1030017.
Sviridenok, A.I., Zharin, A.L., Kravtsevich, A.V., & Tyavlovsky, A.K. (2014). Vliyanie vysokodispersnogo napolnitelya na adgezionnye i friktsionnye svoistva sopolimera etilena s vinilatsetatom [Influence of highly dispersed filler on adhesive and tribo-logical properties of ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer]. Trenie i iznos, 35(4), 401–411. (In Russ.).
Fujimori, H., Ishikawa, Y., Isobe, Y., Ohnaka, N., Sakai, M., & Takahashi, T. (1999). Method of evaluating corrosion resistance of metal material, method of designing alloy of high corrosion resistance, method of diagnosing corroded state of metal material, and method of operating plant (U.S. Patent No. US 5901071 A).
Wang, C., Li, Y., & Alvarado, L. (2020). Study on electrochemical behavior of 20# carbon steel with disbonded coating by scanning Kelvin probe and local electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. International Journal of Electrochemical Science, 15(6), 4988–5001. DOI: 10.20964/2020.06.17.
Wang, S., Liu, D., Du, N., Zhao, Q., Liu, S. & Xiao, J. (2015). Relationship between dissolved oxygen and corrosion characterization of X80 steel in acidic soil simulated solution. International Journal of Electrochemical Science, 10(5), 4393–4404. DOI: 10.1016/S1452-3981(23)06631-2.
Bai, Z., Xiao, K., Dong, P., Dong, C., Wei, D., & Li, X. (2018). Effect of iron ion diffusion on the corrosion behavior of carbon steels in soil environment. RSC Advances, 8(71), 40544–40553. DOI: 10.1039/C8RA08032A.
Yan, F., Wang, X., Li, X., Wang, C., & Jiang, B. (2020). Corrosion behavior of Al–Cu–RE (RE = La, Ce) alloy joints in alkaline soil extract. International Journal of Electrochemical Science, 15(8), 8012–8025. DOI: 10.20964/2020.08.07.
Chen, H., Lv, Z., Lu, L., Huang, Y., & Li. X. (2021). Correlation of micro-galvanic corrosion behavior with corrosion rate in the initial corrosion process of dual phase steel. Journal of Materials Research and Technology, 15, 3310–3320. DOI: 10.1016/j.jmrt.2021.09.123.
Lee, Y.-H., Kim, G., Kim, K.-M., Ko, S.-J., Kim, W.-C., & Kim J.-G. (2022). Localized corrosion occurrence in low-carbon steel pipe caused by microstructural inhomogeneity. Materials, 15(5). DOI: 10.3390/ma15051870.
Liu, B., Yang, J., Du, C., Liu, Z., Wu, W., & Li, X. (2023). Stress corrosion cracking of X80 steel heat-affected zone in a near-neutral pH solution containing Bacillus cereus. npj Materials Degradation, 7(1). DOI: 10.1038/s41529-023-00333-w.
Sugae, K., Otsuka, Y., & Kamimura, T. (2024). Simultaneous measurement of corrosion potential and hydrogen penetration using double-head scanning Kelvin probe. Electrochemistry Communications, 163. DOI: 10.1016/j.elecom.2024.107717.
Qin, M., Hu, Q., & Cheng, Y.F. (2024). Passivation of X80 pipeline steel in a carbonate/bicarbonate solution and the effect of oxide film on hydrogen atom permeation into the steel. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 70, 1–9. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijhydene.2024.05.115.
Komarova, E.G., Akimova, E.B., Kazantseva, E.A., Zharin, A.L., & Sharkeev, Y.P. (2025). Effect of ultrasonic power applied to micro-arc oxidation on the morphology, chemistry, wettability and electrical properties of calcium phosphate coatings on titanium. Journal of Alloys and Compounds, 1039. DOI: 10.1016/j.jallcom.2025.183056.
Zharin, A.L., Mikitevich, V.A., Svistun, A.I., & Pantsialeyeu, K.V. (2023). Universal'nyy tsifrovoy zondovyy elektrometr dlya kontrolya poluprovodnikovykh plastin [Universal digital probe electrometer for monitoring semiconductor wafers]. Pribory i metody izmerenii, 14(3), 161–172. DOI: 10.21122/2220-9506-2023-14-3-161-172.
Most read articles by the same author(s)
- V. ROMANIUK, A. NIYAKOVSKII, N. STRUTSKY, PREDICTIVE ANALYTICS OF THE OBJECTS OF THE GAS DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM OF THE REPUBLIC OF BELARUS: CURRENT STATUS AND PROSPECTS, Vestnik of Polotsk State University. Part F. Constructions. Applied Sciences: No. 3 (2024)
- V. ROMANIUK, N. STRUTSKY, ASSESSMENT OF THE GENERAL LEVEL OF DAMAGEABILITY TO INSULATION COATINGS OF STEEL UNDERGROUND GAS DISTRIBUTION PIPELINES, Vestnik of Polotsk State University. Part F. Constructions. Applied Sciences: No. 14 (2022)
- А. М. НИЯКОВСКИЙ, V. ROMANIUK, DEVELOPMENT OF SCIENTIFIC AND METHODOLOGICAL BASES OF EXERGETIC ANALYSIS OF THE PROCESS OF HEAT TREATMENT OF CONCRETE PRODUCTS IN HEAT-TECHNOLOGICAL INSTALLATIONS, Vestnik of Polotsk State University. Part F. Constructions. Applied Sciences: No. 16 (2019)
- A. NIYAKOVSKI, V. ROMANIUK, ASSESSMENT OF THE ENERGY EFFICIENCY OF HEAT TREATMENT MODES OF COMPOSITE CONCRETE PRODUCTS OF COMPLEX 3D-GEOMETRY IN THERMAL TECHNICAL INSTALLATIONS, Vestnik of Polotsk State University. Part F. Constructions. Applied Sciences: No. 16 (2019)
- V. ROMANIUK, N. STRUTSKY, THE PLACE OF INSULATION COATINGS IN ENSURING RELIABILITY STEEL UNDERGROUND GAS PIPELINES, Vestnik of Polotsk State University. Part F. Constructions. Applied Sciences: No. 3 (2023)