INTRODUCTORY NOTES ON CLIMATE CHANGE,
LIFE-CYCLE DESIGN, AND CORROSION OF STEEL
T. MURATA
Japan Science & Technology Agency, Saitama, Japan
A. CLIMATE CHANGE
Climate change is attributed mainly to increased CO2 in our
atmosphere because of anthropogenic activities and is
expected to increase as much as 50% by 2030 compared to
the concentration in 2005, that is, 359 ppm [1, 2]. Such a
change will affect the corrosion of carbon steel through
acidification due to increased concentration of HCO3
and
Ca2þ in waters at temperatures a few degrees Celsius higher
than those in 1990. In addition, other influential factors that
will arise from climate change include the following:
1. Increase in precipitation
2. Formation of aerosols with CO2 emission
3. Increased SOx emissions caused by the use of sulfur-
bearing coal due to oil shortages
4. Enhanced biological growth in waters
For these reasons, the corrosivity of environments in the
future will be complex, and a simple acidification model will
not be adequate. To predict the effects of climate change on
corrosion, computational analyses and systematic corrosion
studies are required to develop models based on projected
climate change.
“Time of wetness” is universally considered to be a key
corrosion index for atmospheric corrosion. In recent years,
weather instability has led to changes in global rainfall
distribution, changes that could lead to new and different
predictive indices for atmospheric corrosion. For corrosion in
waters, microbiological factors are expected to increase
in importance with the changing climate. In contrast to the
environmental factors that pertain to corrosion in air and
water, the heterogeneous distribution of chemicals in
contaminated soils in industrialized areas results in nonuni-
form soil corrosivity. Dynamic corrosion models are required
with on-site monitoring systems.
B. LIFE-CYCLE DESIGN
To minimize the environmental burden and to attain a
sustainable society, life-cycle design of steel structures is
required to ensure safety, reliability, durability, and the best
use of materials and energy throughout the life cycle. The
life-cycle concept will be required for future design and
construction of social as well as industrial infrastructure. For
example, in developing a life-cycle design for weathering
steels, discussed in Chapter 48, reliable corrosion data for
long-term service and a systematic approach to minimize
both corrosion damage and social costs are necessary.
In general, corrosion is studied using a set of parameters
under simplified or fixed conditions. In the real world, in
response to constantly changing environmental parameters,
corrosion behavior also changes. For this reason, an under-
standing of corrosion dynamics is required, and the corrosion
protection models that are implemented must have a capacity
to reflect dynamic environmental conditions that are subject
to constant change.
REFERENCES
1. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), “Climate
and Water,” Technical Paper VI, Geneva, June 2008.
2. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC),
“Implications of Proposed CO2 Emissions Limitations,” Tech-
nical Paper IV, Geneva, Oct. 1997, Figure 6, p. 16.
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