For 18 months, a newly developed low alloy weathering steel has been exposed in two coastal sites （Qingdao in the north China, Wanning in the south China）. The different corrosion behaviors of the exposed side and the underside of the samples were characterized by X-ray diffraetion （XRD）, polarization curve, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy （EIS）, scanning electron microscopy （SEM）, and N2 adsorption approach. It was found that the samples exhibited higher corrosion rate in Wanning than that in Qingdao. The underside of the samples corrodes more seriously than the exposed side in Qingdao, whereas the result in Wanning is just the reverse. The protection performance of rust layers mainly depends on its compactness and the enrichment of Cu and Cr is a secondary causation. The different compactness of rust layers in the exposed side and the underside originates from different corrosion conditions of the two sides.
A newly developed low-alloy weathering steel has been exposed in two coastal sites （Qingdao in the north, Wanning in the south） in China for one year. The samples in Wanning corroded far more seriously than those in Qingdao. The rust layer formed on the steel was analyzed by X-ray diffraction （XRD）, scanning electron microscopy （SEM）, N2 adsorption approach, polarization curves, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy （EIS）. The rust formed in Qingdao contains more X-ray amorphous compounds and is more compact than that formed in Wanning. Cr and Cu are enriched in the rust layer near the steel matrix, and the phenomenon is more obvious in Qingdao than in Wanning. The rust layer formed in Qingdao suppresses the anodic and cathodic reaction more remarkably than that formed in Wanning does. The rust layer formed in Qingdao possesses a higher ability to block the permeation of chloride ions than that formed in Wanning does.
