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Introduction to Corrosion

Lecture#01
Definition

 Corrosion may be defined as the destruction


of a metal or an alloy because of chemical or
electrochemical reaction with its surrounding
environment or medium

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Environments in Corrosion1

1Sheir, L.L., R.A. Jarman, and G.T. Burstein, eds. Corrosion. 3rd ed. Vol. 1. 2000, Butterworth-Heinemann: Oxford.
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Corrosion: Metallurgy in Reverse 2

2Fontana, M.G., Corrosion Engineering. 3rd ed. 1986, New York: McGraw-Hill.
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Some Corrosion
Failure Examples 3

3Corrosion Doctors Website. Homepage: http://www.corrosion-doctors.org


Aloha Incident

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Aloha Incident (Contd..)

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Bhopal Accident

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Carlsbad Pipeline Explosion

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Flow Accelerated Corrosion

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Nuclear Reactor with a Hole in the Head

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Losses due to Corrosion 4

4Uhlig, H.H. and R.W. Revie, Corrosion and Corrosion Control. 3rd ed. 1985, New York: John Wiley & Sons.
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Cost of Corrosion

 Which cost more?


 Corrosion
 Fire
 Flooding
 Earthquake

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Cost of Corrosion(2004) in billion US$5
Country Direct Cost Indirect Cost
USA 303.76 200 (approximately)
Japan 59.02
Former USSR 55.01
Germany 49.26
UK 8.51
Australia 7.32
Belgium 6.75
India 3.78
Poland 3.53
Canada 3.38
.....
.....
.....
Global 510.14 940 (approximately)

5Bhaskaran, R., N. Palaniswamy, and N.S. Rengaswamy, Global Cost of Corrosion—A Historical Review,
in Corrosion: Materials, Vol 13B, ASM Handbook. 2005, ASM International. 14
Example of Overdesign 3

 An 8" in. dia oil pipeline 225 miles long with a


in. wall thickness was installed with no
corrosion protection system
 With appropriate protection namely cathodic
protection, it would have a thin wall thickness
which would
 save 3,700 tons of steel (worth more than one
million dollar)
 increase internal capacity of the pipeline by about
5%.

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So……Why Study Corrosion?

 Materials are precious resources


 Engineering design is incomplete without knowledge
of corrosion
 Applying knowledge of corrosion protection can
minimize disasters
 Corrosion – contaminate products such as
pharmaceutical, food and dairy products or luxury
items like soap
 Corrosion products – threat to the environment
 Artificial implants for the human body!!!

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Distribution of disciplines in which active
corrosion engineers have graduated

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So .. What would be expected from You (a
Corrosion Engineer)?
 Ensuring maximum life of new equipment
 Preservation of existing equipment
 Protecting or improving the quality of a product in order to
maintain or improve a competitive position.
 Avoiding costly interruptions of production.
 Reducing or eliminating losses of valuable products by spillage
or leaks.
 Refitting of equipment withdrawn from service because of
corrosion.
 Reducing hazards to life and property that might be associated
with corrosion:
 Explosions of pressure vessels or piping systems

 release of poisonous or explosive gases or vapors

are a few examples.

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