Corrosion-Hydrogen Degradation of the Shukhov Lattice Construction Steels

The technical state of the 100-year-old Shukhov lattice towers (in cities Mykolayiv and Cherkasy in Ukraine) and the Adziogol Lighthouse, located at the mouth of the Dnipro river, under the project of genius Russian engineer V. G. Shukhov with a use of widespread at that time rivet connection, is analysed. The peculiarity of such lattice hyperboloid designs consists in a minimisation of metal capacity. These unique constructions should be saved as the monuments of industrial architecture.The towers were partially broken-down in 1944 and later restored with a use of the weld technologies, therefore the problem of the workability evaluation of the weld joints is added. The results of the expertise of the structures from the point of materials science and corrosion-mechanical aspects of this problem are presented. The chemical content, corrosion and mechanical properties of authentic and repair metal are studied and the reasons of fracture of welds are analysed. It was established that the in-bulk angle metal of Adziogol Lighthouse is characterised by the lowest corrosion resistance what can be connected with the steel hydrogenation in the conditions of the near Black Sea environment. This factor intensifies in-bulk material degradation and therefore causes a sensitivity of the weld metal to stress corrosion cracking.