Why Study Corrosion?

An Introduction
Corrosion Engineering
ChE 197

We are living in a society based on

metals
residential & commercial structures
bridges, trusses, automobiles, ships,
piers, docks, pipelines, storage tanks, etc

Stainless steel

aircraft frames, canned food containers

electronic applications

Aluminum alloy

We are living in a society based on

metals
water pipes, electrical connectors
decorative roofs

Copper

production of stainless steel

corrosion-resistant alloys

Chromium and nickel

We are living in a society based on

metals

computer disks, printed

circuits, connectors, switches

Coins, jewelry, historical

landmarks, objects of art

Hip/knee replacements,
arterial stents, surgical
plates/screws/wires

All common metals tend to react with

their environment

Corrosion natural phenomenon; destructive attack of a metal by its environment so

as to cause a deterioration of the properties of the metal
Deck of aircraft carrier splashed and sprayed by seawater
Structural metals & electronic components in aircraft may corrode

We study corrosion because of

concern to human life and safety

December 15, 1967 Collapse of Silver Bridge connecting Ohio and West Virginia over
the Ohio River; 46 people lost their lives.
Cause of collapse was stress-corrosion cracking (SCC)

We study corrosion because of its cost

National cost of corrosion in

the UK 1969-1970
Metallic corrosion in the US

We study corrosion because of

material conservation
Corrosion affects global supply of metals
Removes components /structures from
service so their replacement consumes a
portion of the total supply of earths
material resources

Conserving supply of metal reduces

amount of solid materials at landfills or
recycling centers
Extending service life of metal forestalls additional manufacturing/processing;
decreases emission of greenhouse gases

We study corrosion because of

material conservation
1975 and 1995 estimates of the global reserves of various metals

There is a finite limited supply of metal

We also have to consider the geographical location of certain ores and minerals
(critical materials)

We study corrosion because of

material conservation
Corrosion affects national landmarks,
works of art, historical artifacts

Corrosion affects national landmarks,

works of art, historical artifacts
Statue of Liberty found to have suffered
extensive corrosion in the iron structure
Iron structure supports its copper skin as
well as perforation of copper in the torch area

Corroded statue of Thomas Jefferson

due to industrial pollution

We study corrosion because it is a

challenging and interesting pursuit

What are some challenges for todays

corrosion researchers and scientists?
Develop protective surface treatments & corrosion
inhibitors to replace chromates
Improve conservation of materials by developing corrosionresistant surface alloys (not bulk alloys)
Replace Cr and other critical metals in new formulations of
stainless steels
Improve understanding of passivity
Understand mechanism of the breakdown of passive oxide
films by Cl ions and subsequent pitting of underlying metal
Develop smart organic coatings that can detect a break in
the coating and heal the coating/inhibit corrosion
Predict lifetime of metals and components from short-term
experimental corrosion data