Protective ability index measurement through Raman quantification imaging to diagnose the conservation state of weathering steel structures

Weathering steel was designed to resist against the atmospheric impact due to the development of a characteristic rust layer that protects the metal by reducing the corrosion rate. This rust layer is formed by different iron (oxy-hydr)oxides that acts as a barrier and provides the protective ability. In order to check the conservation state trough the protective capability, it is necessary to calculate the so-called protective ability index (PAI). It mainly takes into account the ratio (/) between the mass of goethite (-FeOOH) and lepidocrocite (-FeOOH), present in the rust layer of weathering steel. Raman spectroscopy, apart from a qualitative technique, is recently becoming a semi quantitative approach. Therefore, it is a valuable tool for the calculation of the mentioned index. This paper is a widening of a previous work in which it was uncovered a problem in different weathering steel sculptures which are exposed to a Cl- and SO2-rich urban atmosphere because they present different esthetical problems on their surfaces, such as detachments of steel chips, discolorations and irregularities. In order to relate these problems on the surface and the rust layer composition, PAI calculations were performed from the phase identification obtained from Raman imaging and using spectra decomposition to quantify each compounds. Although goethite and lepidocrocite were the most commonly detected compounds, hematite, akaganeite and magnetite were also identified. Hematite is a sub product formed in rich SO2 atmospheres; therefore, a PAI with its content is proposed. Protective indexes obtained for the different artworks exposed in different places provide quantitative clues for the conservation diagnosis of weathering steel structures. Copyright (c) 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.