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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to study the effect of heat treatment (HT) applied to an API X60 steel in corrosion resistance and stress corrosion cracking (SCC) susceptibility through slow strain rate tests (SSRT) in NS4 solution and congenital water (CW) to assess external and internal SCC, respectively. Design/methodology/approach API X60 steel was heat treated at a temperature of 1,200°C for 30 min followed by water quenching. Specimens from this steel were machined according to NACE TM 198. SSRT were performed in a constant extension rate tests (CERT) machine at room temperature at a strain rate of 1 × 10–6 s–1. For this purpose, a glass cell was used. Corrosion behavior was evaluated through polarization curves (PCs). Findings The SCC index obtained from SSRT indicates that the steel heat treated could be susceptible to SCC in CW and NS4 solution; the mechanism of SCC was hydrogen embrittlement. Thus, CW may promote the SCC phenomenon in pipelines. HT improves the steel corrosion resistance. Higher corrosion rate (CR) was observed when the steel is exposed to CW. The corrosion process in X60 steel shows that the oxidation reaction in the anodic branch corresponds to an activation process, and the cathode branches reveal a diffusion process. Originality/value The purpose of the heat treatment applied to X60 steel was to generate a microstructure of acicular ferrite to improve the corrosion resistance and SCC behavior.

Corrosion behavior of an API X70 steel by potentiodynamic polarization curves was carried out. X70 steel was heat treated at a temperature of 1050°C (onset temperature solution of niobium carbonitrides) for 15 and 30 minutes hold followed by quenching in water. Test solutions for electrochemical evaluation were NS4 solution and congenital water (CW) to assess external and internal corrosion pipelines respectively. The polarization curves were performed within a range of -500mV to 1000mV for NS4 solution and the -500mV to 600mV by congenital water respect to open circuit potential (OCP) at a scan rate of 1mV/s. The tests were conducted at room temperature. The surfaces of the samples were observed by scanning electron microscope (SEM). A localized corrosion type was observed. According to polarization curves it can be observed that oxidation reaction in the anodic branch belongs to a charge transfer process. Cathodic branches reveal a process where the charge transfer resistance is influenced by a process of mass transfer. The non-conventional heat treatment improved the corrosion resistance compared to as received material.