INVESTIGATING THE EFFECTS OF WELDING ON THE CORROSION TENDENCY OF AUTOMOBILE EXHAUST PIPES IN ACID/SALT SOLUTIONS

This paper discusses the effect of welding on the corrosion tendency of mild steel and galvanized steel samples in acidic and salty conditions, low thermal fluctuations and prevailing atmospheric situations. Corrosion rates based on weight losses were determined with the tensile strength of welded areas compared, as per the two types of materials investigated- mild steel and galvanized steel, and three different types of electrodes used-stainless steel, mild steel and cast electrodes. The effects of gas welding and arc welding on the corrosion rate of the above mentioned materials in the presence of the various corrosive conditions were also observed. This goes a long way to proffer recommendations on the maintenance and processing of automobile exhaust pipes, which are common engineering components with similar material makeup as those of samples used in the investigation and exposed to similar conditions