H-shaped steel components are extensively employed in modern steel structure buildings due to their superior mechanical properties, high load-bearing capacity, and structural efficiency. In recent years, corrosion research in the field of structural steel has gradually shifted from traditional two-dimensional flat plate systems toward more realistic three-dimensional irregular geometries, with growing emphasis on elucidating the non-uniform corrosion mechanisms that emerge from the complex interplay between component geometry and localized micro-environmental conditions such as moisture retention, oxygen diffusion, and electrolyte accumulation. Despite this progressive shift, the majority of existing experimental and numerical studies continue to focus predominantly on flat steel surfaces, leaving a significant knowledge gap regarding the corrosion behavior of typical three-dimensional structural elements, particularly H-shaped steel sections, which are ubiquitous in engineering practice. Crucially, systematic investigations into how spatial orientation affects corrosion evolution across different surfaces (e.g., upper/lower flanges and web plates) remain scarce, and predictive models that account for geometric complexity are still underdeveloped. To address this critical gap, the work aims to conduct a comprehensive series of neutral salt spray (NSS) corrosion experiments on H-shaped steel specimens positioned at three distinct spatial angles, including 0° (horizontal), 45° (inclined), and 90° (vertical), over multiple corrosion cycles up to 60 days. Concurrently, a novel corrosion evolution model based on three-dimensional cellular automata (3D-CA) technology is developed to simulate the dynamic, spatially heterogeneous corrosion process. Experimental results demonstrate that the spatial placement angle exerts a profound effect on corrosion distribution and severity. At both 0° and 45° orientations, the upper flange exhibits greater corrosion than the web plate, while the lower flange remains the least corroded due to limited electrolyte retention. Notably, the 45° specimen experiences accelerated corrosion: its inclined geometry impedes stable water film formation yet enhances localized wet-dry cycling, leading to more aggressive pitting. After 60 days, the average rust layer thickness and mean pit depth on the upper flange and web plate of the 45° specimen are 45.79% and 54.78% higher, respectively, than those of the 0° specimen. In the 90° configuration, the upper surface of the web plate suffers the most severe attack, followed by the flanges, while the lower web surface shows minimal corrosion. Under any fixed angle, corrosion metrics, including rust layer thickness, maximum and average pit depth, and mass loss rate, increase with exposure duration, yet pronounced non-uniformity persists across surfaces. For example, in the 45° specimen, the upper flange endures the worst degradation due to maximal salt spray exposure and surface area, whereas the undersides of both flanges experience minimal contact and rapid drainage under gravity, resulting in significantly milder corrosion. The proposed 3D-CA model accurately reproduces these experimental observations, with simulated pit morphologies, depth distributions, and corrosion rates showing excellent agreement such as errors consistently below 5%, thereby validating its reliability and predictive power. This work conclusively demonstrates that the corrosion behavior of H-shaped steel is intrinsically governed by its three-dimensional geometry and spatial orientation, necessitating the incorporation of such factors in durability design and service-life assessment. The validated 3D-CA framework provides a robust computational tool for simulating real-world corrosion scenarios and supports more accurate, physics-informed predictions for steel infrastructure in aggressive environments.
Key words
H-shaped steel /
cellular automaton /
spatial angle /
neutral salt spray corrosion test /
corrosion model /
pit morphology and depth
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Funding
Key Research and Development Program of Shandong Province (Major Scientific & Technological Innovation Projects) (2024CXGC010321); Science and Technology Plan of Housing and Urban-Rural Development of Shandong Province (2024KYKF-JZGYH103); Key Research and Development Program of Rizhao City (2025ZDYF0101)
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