• Journal of Conservation Science
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.187-196
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• 2013

This study is on the corrosion of iron objects caused by sulfides in undersea environment. The corrosion state of objects in seawater and their damage state after underwater and left in highly humid air were studied. The samples of this study were four iron objects which had been taken out from undersea mud layer located in Taean Mado, Chungcheongnamdo. SEM-EDS and XRD analyse on the objects to check whether they have sulfides or not. The result of analysis suggested that the major component of corrosion product generated in undersea deposit soil is sulfur(S) and iron sulfide(FeS) is formed as sulfide. However, there was no clear corrosion on the surface of objects which was exposed to sea water because of the impact of concretion which covered the surface. In order to check the damage status of iron objects after they had been taken out of sea water, exposure tests in high humidity environment and dehumidified environment were done on the corrosion products. The result of the test suggested that the oxidization of iron sulfide corrosion product makes iron sulfate ($FeSO_4$) and sulfuric acid ($H_2SO_4$) and they can cause secondary corrosion of iron objects. Therefore, it is believed that the iron sulfide corrosion product of iron objects taken out from underwater environment should be removed by all means and the keeping environment of the iron objects should also maintain dehumidified state.