The service life of many steel structures is very closely related to the effectiveness of the system employed to protect them from corrosion. Paint and similar organic coatings are used widely in the protection of steel structures. Ability of such protective coatings to perform intended functions is contingent upon their ability to maintain adequate adhesion to the steel surface.
There is little doubt reactions which occur at the coating/steel interface play an important role in the service life of the coating. A thorough study of these reactions seemed to be one of the keys necessary for a better understanding of the mechanism of protection of metal surfaces by paint systems. Experiments were initiated therefore to provide the factual background for a useful working hypothesis.
One phase of this investigation consisted of a study of the influence of various constituents of aqueous corrosion media upon the anode and cathode reactions at...
