Marine Corrosion of Selected Small Wire Ropes and Strands

C. J. Sandwith, Applied Physics Lab., and Dept. of Mechanical Engineering R. C. Clark, Graduate Student University of Washington

ABSTRACT The b r e a k a g e l o a d s o f n i n e d i f f e r e n t s m a l l mooring l i n e s a r e e x p e r i m e n t a l l y r e l a t e d t o t i m e o f a immersion i n a marineenvironment.Samplesof s i n g l es t e e lw i r e ,f i v ed i f f e r e n ts t r a n d sr a n g i n g from 0.05 i n c h 1 x 7 t o 7/64 i n c h 1 x 1 9 , and t h r e e small wire r o p e s 3/32 i n c h 7 x 7 were f u l l y i m mersed i nP u g e t Sound f o r 38, 115, and 150 days. T e n s i l e t e s t d a t a from t h e immersed samples are analyzedand compared w i t h d a t a f r o m c o n t r o l samp l e s . The time rateofchangeofbreakageload duringapproximately 6 months ofexposure i s given forbarelubricatedsteelwire andstrand,galv a n i z e ds t e e ls t r a n d ,a l u m i n i z e dr o p e , and PVCcoated wire r o p e .R e s u l t si n d i c a t et h a tt h e rate o f c o r r o s i o n damage o f b a r e l u b r i c a t e d s t e e l wires and s t r a n d s d e c r e a s e s from a h i g h i n i t i a l v a l u e t o a lower constant value. A expressionintermsoftime,initial n wire r a d i u s and a p s e u d o c o r r o s i o n r a t e f o r t h e c o r r o is s i o n damage (asmeasuredbybreakageload) developed on t h e a s s u m p t i o n t h a t t h e l o s t a r e a c a n bemodeled as anannulus.

w i r er o p e ,t h e sea, a n dt h ea p p l i c a t i o n . The l a r g e number o f v a r i a b l e s a l s o e x p l a i n s t h e s h o r t c o m i n g s of p r e d i c t i o n s b a s e d on t h e o r y a n d t h e n e c e s s i t y f o r c o n d u c t i n g tests i n t h e a c t u a l e n v i r o n m e n t . Justifiably,againbeCause of the quantity of vari a b l e s ,m a n u f a c t u r e r s and s u p p l i e r s a r e r e l u c t a n t as a f u n c t i o n o f to publish strength properties timeofexposure. The t e s t program reported here resulted from a known t h e need t o s e l e c t a n a n c h o r i n g l i n e w i t h b r e a k a g es t r e n g t ha s a functionoftime.Nine differenttypesofspecimenswereexposedtothe expected marine environment for various times, and w e r es u b s e q u e n t l yt e n s i l et e s t e d .S i n c et h ea n c h o r loadrequirement was less than 1000 pounds, s t r a n d s small w i r e r o p e s and s i n g l e w i r e s i n a d d i t i o n t o were consideredandtested. The t e s t program was designed t o e v a l u a t e t h e r a n g e o f b r e a k a g e s t r e n g t h a 6-month p e r i o d of each kind of specimen during and t o a t t r i b u t e a n y s t r e n g t h l o s s t o t h e a p p r o p r i a t e c o r r o s i o n mechanism. TEST SPECIMENS The types of wire, strand and wire rope specI . The imens a r e d e s c r i b e d a n d i d e n t i f i e d i n T a b l e n i n e t y p e s , which a r e i d e n t i f i e d by t h e l e t t e r s A through I , i n c l u d e o n e s i n g l e w i r e , f i v e s t r a n d s and t h r e e wire r o p e s . The s t r a n d s a r e e i t h e r b r i g h t musicwire (BEIW), galvanizedimproved plow s t e e l (IPS) o r t y p e 304 s t a i n l e s s s t e e l ( S S ) . The r o p e s a r e 3 x 7 aluminizedIPS or 7 x 7 p o l y v i n y l c h l o r i d e (PVC) coatedgalvanized IPS s t e e l r o p e . Specimen t y p e s B and C a r e similar t o t y p e s D and E inthateachpair i s o f t h e same typeandconis composed of one small struction, but each pair A l l specimen types s t r a n da n do n el a r g e rs t r a n d . are l u b r i c a t e d as r e c e i v e d e x c e p t f o r t h e s i n g l e wire and the two PVC-coated r o p e s . A l l t e s t samples were 10 f t long. bookFor were d i v i d e d i n t o keeping purposes the test samples four groups--one control group and three immersed groups. The control group contained samples of each I . The control samples were specimen except type tensile tested to determine the as-received prope r t i e s . Specimen t y p e I was assumed t o h a v et h e same p r o p e r t i e s as H. Eachimmersed groupcontained A ( s i n g l ew i r e )a n dt h r e e 25 samples--oneoftype samplesoftheremainingeighttypes. Each o f t h e t h r e e immersed groups was i n s t a l l e d on a s e p a r a t e 6 x 10 f t wooden frame. The frames consisted of unp r o t e c t e d 2 x 4 ' s i n t h e form of an open rectangle. The samples were stretched hand tight over the 10-ft

INTRODUCTION Exploration and use of the sea depends on t h e s a f e andeconomicaluseof all types of wire and s t r a n d e dw i r ep r o d u c t s .F a i l u r eb yb r e a k a g e or other unacceptable performance can cause loss o f expensiveequipmentandtime. most Chase c i t e s c o r r o s i o n as o n e o f t h e t h r e e common r e a s o n sf o ri n - s e r v i c eb r e a k a g e :t h es e l e c 28%; f a t i g u e , t i o n of animproperconstruction, 20%; andcorrosion, 14%. Extensiveexperimental programshavebeenconductedandanalyzed t o show andexplaintheresultsofsubjecting a multitude 1-5 of wire products to various marine environments. Yet t h e a v a i l a b l e l i t e r a t u r e seems t o l a c k t h e n e c essaryinformationtocalculatethebreakage a funcs t r e n g t h o f small wire ropes and strands as t i o n o f time i n many specific marine environments. or Even more d i f f i c u l t i s t h e t a s k o f s e l e c t i n g d e s i g n i n g t h e s i z e and c o n s t r u c t i o n o f wire rope t h a t will e x h i b i t a c e r t a i n b r e a k a g e s t r e n g t h a f t e r a certain time of exposure.

'

is The l a c k o f knowlege t o performsuchtasks understood by recognizing the multitude of v a r i a b l e s t h a t mustbedetermined o r assumed, f o r t h e

148 - IEEE OCEAN '75

l e n g t ho ft h ef r a m e and s t a p l e d . The samples were e v e n l ys p a c e da t7 - i n c hi n t e r v a l st op r e v e n to v e r laying.

!?&le I . Specimens
Specimen Description Type single wire bright music wire strand bright music wire strand galvanized wire strand Constructiona 0.066" drawn wire
0.05" 1x7 strand, 0.020" wires, lubricated

Nominal Composition 0.6% carbon steel bright music wire SAE 1085 same as above

of 31 %,. Wind mixingproduces a r e l a t i v e l yh i g h oxygen c o n c e n t r a t i o n .T h e r ea r e no f r e s hw a t e r s o u r c e s o r stagnant areas nearby to provide hydroThe gen s u l f i d e o r o t h e re n v i r o n m e n t a lv a r i a b l e s . f i r s t frame was r e c o v e r e d a f t e r 38 days, the second a f t e r 115 days, and t h et h i r da f t e r 150 days. The recoveredsampleswerewrapped i n wet b u r l a p and t r a n s f e r r e d from t h e d o l p h i n t o t h e t e s t l a b o r a t o r y i na n 11-ft long wooden box. The timelagbetween last t e n s i l e t e s t f o r t h e first recoveryandthe two groupsofsamples was t h r e ed a y s . The time lagforthethirdgroup was four days. T e n s i l e p r o p e r t i e s were determined on a 60 000pound c a p a c i t y t e n s i l e t e s t i n g machine. The t e n s i l e s e t u p i s shown i nF i g u r e 1. The t e s t f i x t u r e was f a b r i c a t e d t o meet A T ,4370 s p e c i f i c a t i o n s SM forpull-testingwireproductswithout endtermin a l s .T e n s i l es p e c i m e n s were i n s t a l l e d by clamping of t h e theupperend, making one turnaroundeach 6 . 6 2 5 - i n c hd i a m e t e rd r u m s ,s e t t i n gt h et e s tl e n g t h t o 10inches, andclamping thelowerclampingplate. One looparoundeachclamping p l a t e was n e c e s s a r y topreventslippageofcertaintypesofspecimens. A extensometer was used t o monitor the elongation n d u r i n gl o a d i n go f a 2-inchgaugelength. The s t r a n ds p e c i m e n st w i s t e ds l i g h t l ya st h el o a d was i n c r e a s e d . The t w i s t i n ga c t i o nc a u s e di n t e r m i t t e n t d i s p l a c e m e n t so ft h ek n i f ee d g e s on t h e extensome t e r . The extensometeroutput was c o r r e c t e d by making t h e l o a d v s e l o n g a t i o n p l o t c o n t i n u o u s .

0.08" 1x7 strand, 0.030" wires, lubricated 3/64" 1x19 strand, 0.010'' wires, lubricated 7/64" 1x19 strand, 0.019" wires, lubricated 3/32" 1x19 strand, 0.017" wires, lubricated 3/32" 3x7 swaged rope, 0.017" wires, lubricated 3/32" 7x7 rope, 0.010'' wires same as above

improved plow steel galvan. wire drah-n to final size same as above

galvanized wire strand

304 stainless steel strand

aluminized

AIS1 type 304

improved plow steel alum. wire drawn to final size C-1064 steel

PYC-coated galvanized steel rope "spacelay" PVC spacelay with simulated fishbiteC

same as above

a dimensions measured by authors

given by source fishbite simulated by hacking at the rope with a knife

FIXED END

PROCEDURE

The test plan involved the comparison of tens i l e p r o p e r t i e s o f a group of control specimens w i t ht h ep r o p e r t i e so ft h r e eg r o u p so f submerged o r corrodedspecimenswhichwereperiodicallyrecovered from marine the environment. Visual observat i o n so ft h em a r i n eg r o w t h s ,d e p o s i t s ,a n dt h e generalappearanceofthespecimenswererecorded atthetimeofrecovery.Macroscopicandmicroscopicexaminationswereconductedtohelpexplain t h e r e s u l t s and h e l p i d e n t i f y t h e mechanismsof corrosion. The sampleswereexposed t ot h em a r i n ee n v i r o n ment by f u l l y submerging t h e t h r e e sampleframes i n Puget Sound on Sept.30,1970. The frameswereinlow dividuallyattachedto a five-piledolphinin was such c u r r e n t s and 42F bay water.6 Attachment t h a t samplelength was a p p r o x i m a t e l yv e r t i c a l . The 30 f t below mean low t i d e , a n d t h e upperendswere lowerendswereapproximately 8 f t o f f bottom.6 The dolphin was l o c a t e d 200 f t o f f s h o r e on a gentlyslopingbottomnearHainesPoint.Inprev i o u sy e a r s ,t h e immersion s i t e e x h i b i t e d a s a l i n i t y t h a t v a r i e d between a minimum o f 29% and a maximum

CLAMPING PLATE

TENSILE TESTING MACHINE MOVING

Figme 1.

Tensiletestsetup

IEEE OCEAN '75 149 -

Efficientuseofeach10-ftlong t e s t sample allowed two t e n s i l et e s t sp e rs a m p l e .A f t e ro n e end o f t h e s a m p l e was t e s t e d t o r u p t u r e , t h e b a l was s u f f i c i e n t f o r a anceofthe10-ftsample Care was t a k e nt oe n s u r et h a t s e c o n dt e n s i l et e s t . the second test length hadnotbeenusedinclampi n g t h e first specimen.

f r o m t h e l a r g e BMW i n a few places and could be t u r n e d on t h e s t r a n d much l i k e t h a t on t h e s o l i d wire. GalvanizedImproved Plow S t e e l (D and E)

After completionof a l l t e n s i l e t e s t s , t h e brokenendsofthesampleswereexamined to deterfracture. A 1-ft l e n g t h mine t h e n a t u r e o f t h e was cutfromeachspecimentypeinthegroup, immersed f o r 150days,andtakenapartfor more detailedvisualexaminationofthecorrosion damage. From t h e same group, an intact 3/4-inch length was c u t fromeachspecimentypeformicroscopicexamin a t i o n . A standardmetallographicspecimen was make t o expose a l o n g i t u d i n a l s e c t i o n and a c r o s s sectionoftheindividualwires.
OBSERVATIONS The p r e l i m i n a r y o b s e r v a t i o n s b e f o r e t h e t e n s i l e t e s t s and t h e r e s u l t s o f m a c r o s c o p i c e x a m i n a t i o n have been grouped by specimen type. S i n g l e Wire (A) Preliminary examination a f t e r immersion i n d i cated that the wire tended to assume t h e c u r v a t u r e o ft h em a n u f a c t u r e r ' ss h i p p i n gc o i l . Some g r a s s l i k e seaweed was a t t a c h e d . A thin(about1/32inch t h i c k ) , brown mixture of corrosion product and wire. Almost a l l of b i o l o g i c a lg r o w t hc o a t e dt h e thecoatingcouldbe wiped o f f by p u l l i n g t h e w i r e through a r a g , b u t some s p o t s o f firm p r o d u c t r e The mained i n areas o fc o n c e n t r a t e dc o r r o s i o n . number of corroded locations increased with expos u r et i m e . When d r y ,t h ec o a t i n gs e p a r a t e di nt h e form of rings of corrosion product which could be r o t a t e da b o u tt h ew i r e . The a x i a l d i s t r i b u t i o n o f c o r r o s i o n damage c a n b e c l a s s i f i e d as unevenlocal c o r r o s i o n . The r a d i a ld i s t r i b u t i o nc a nb ec l a s s i f i e d as unevengeneralcorrosion. BrightMusic

The 38-daysamplesofthe small galvanized s t r a n d s were very clean, while the 115-day s p e c i mens e x h i b i t e d a c o a t i n g o f c o r r o s i o n p r o d u c t s a n d marine growths. The 150-day samples were lost becauseoffrettingcorrosionbetweenthestrands and the staples that held the strands. The l a r g e g a l v a n i z e d s t r a n d s w e r e i n good c o n d i t i o n a f t e r 38 daysofimmersion,but showed some c o r r o s i o n damage i n t h e form of small reddish brown s p o t s .I nt h e 115-day group, t h es p o t s were more numerous. The growth was abundant and brownish green, and included much g r a s s - l i k e seaweed. The s t r a n d s i n t h i s g r o u p werereduced t o about one-halftheoriginaldiameterunderthestaples. Wen the o u t e r wires w e r e s e p a r a t e d , c o r r o s i o n was o b s e r v e d w h e r e t h e a d j a c e n t w i r e s h a d b e e n i n c o n t a c t , and t h e w i r e s w e r e n o t i c e a b l y t h i n n e r t h e r e . By bending between t h ef i n g e r s ,p l a s t i c at the thin deformation could readily be produced s p o t s on t h e i n d i v i d u a l w i r e s .

were The c o r r o s i o n p r o d u c t s o f t h e i n n e r w i r e s graytogray-black,with l i t t l e ofthereddish brown c o l o rt h a ta p p e a r e d on t h eo u t s i d e . The cent e r wire showed v e r y l i t t l e corrosion and no trace of lubricant.
Type 304 S t a i n l e s s S t e e l
(F)

The e x t e r n a l s u r f a c e s o f all t h r e e s a m p l e A clean groups showed o n l ys l i g h td i s c o l o r a t i o n . a small collecs t r a n d was revealed by wiping off t i o n o f slime and g r a s s - l i k e seaweed. A 43-inch lengthofthe 1 x 7 innercoreofthe 1 x 19 strand f e l l o u t after r u p t u r e o f o n e t e n s i l e t e s t sample f r o m t h e 150-day group. Both e n d so ft h es h o r t l e n g t h were t a p e r e d t o a p o i n t b y c o r r o s i o n . The 150-daygroupexhibitedanobvious loss i n a t s m a l lb e n dr a d i i . The d u c t i l i t yb yf r a c t u r i n g t e n s i l e t e s t s a m p l e s f r a c t u r e d a t t h e bend i f b e n t s h a r p l y a t t h ec l a m p i n gp l a t e .S i n c et h ee x t r a loop around the clamping plate could not be used, two t u r n s were used on each drum t o limit s l i p p a g e . When t h e s t r a n d was t a k e n a p a r t , l u b r i c a n t whichheldblackand brown f l a k e s was observed.In t h i s i n s p e c t i o n some i n d i v i d u a l i n n e r wires w i t h separatedneedlepointendswerefound. The t a p e r a maximum l e n g t h t o a needle point extended over of3/8inch. Most o f t h e l e n g t h o f t h e i n n e r w i r e s was b r i g h t and well l u b r i c a t e d .C o r r o s i o na p p e a r e d 1 x 7 coreofthe 1 x 19 s t r a n d . tocutacrossthe AluminizedImproved Plow S t e e l (G)

Wire (B and C)

The small B N strand developed a c o r r o s i o n E growth coating on the 150-daysamples t h a t was approximatelyequalinthicknesstotheradiusof t h es t r a n d . Some g r a s s - l i k e seaweed up t o 2 inches long was found i n t h i s c o a t i n g . Again,mostofthe c o a t i n g was e a s i l y wiped off.Evidenceofcorrosion products was continuous over the wire, although the s e v e r i t y of c o r r o s i o n was notuniform. The c o r r o sion product was brown i n whatappeared t o b e t h e more s e v e r e l y c o r r o d e d s p o t s , a n d o r a n g e i n o t h e r a r e a s . On t a k i n gt h es t r a n da p a r t ,t h ei n s i d eo f was blackandhadnoloosecorrot h eo u t e rw i r e s s i o np r o d u c t . The orange and brown spotsobserved wire. A l l o f on t h eo u t s i d ec o n t i n u e da r o u n dt h e t h e o r i g i n a l l u b r i c a t i o n was a p p a r e n t l y l o s t w i t h i n 150days. The c o r r o s i o n o f t h e l a r g e B N s t r a n d seemed E small BMW strand except identical to that of the that the corrosion-growth coating had separated

The aluminized rope was l i g h t l y c o v e r e d w i t h a growth o f s h o r t g r a s s - l i k e seaweed.There was no corrosion-growth of the type found on t h e o t h e r was a g r a y t o w h i t e powdery cables.There

150 - IEEE OCEAN '75

corrosionproduct,but it could not be cleanly wipedfrom t h e s u r f a c e . Although t h e a l u m i n i z e d c o a t i n g was corroded, no improved plow s t e e lw i r e was exposed. Close examination of both the internal and external wires The r e v e a l e d no s i g n so fc o r r o s i o no ft h es t e e l . wires were flattened at wire-to-wire contact areas-probablydue t o t h e swagingoperation. The f l a t tened contact areas were bright, and the corrosion was a p p a r e n t l y l i m i t e d t o t h e p a r t s o f t h e w i r e n o t i nd i r e c tc o n t a c t .I nc o n t r a s tt ot h eb r i g h t music w i r e s ,t h ec o r r o s i o np r o d u c t was found i n t h e i n terior of the rope. PVC-Coated Galvanized Improved Plow S t e e l (H and I ) \There t h e c o a t i n g was i n t a c t , no evidenceof This specimen type exhibited c o r r o s i o n was found. theheaviestcollectionofmarinegrowth andlooked l i k e a h a i r - f a i r e d ,l i g h t tow c a b l e . A l l o ft h e growth could be easily wiped off to reveal clean p l a s t i c .I nt h es p e c i m e n sw i t hs i m u l a t e df i s h b i t e , a few individualwireswereexposed. onlyareasof Some brown rust appeared on t h e s e a r e a s , b u t t h e r e was no i n d i c a t i o n t h a t c o r r o s i o n hadprogressed u n d e rt h ep l a s t i cn e a rt h ec u t .A p p a r e n t l yt h e bond between t h e p l a s t i c and t h e o u t e r w i r e s , which areindividuallysurroundedbyplastic,remained end o ft h es p e c i i n t a c t . On t h eu n p r o t e c t e df r e e men, c o r r o s i o n was r e s t r i c t e d t o t h e exposed p a r t s ofthewiresandextendedundertheplasticless (No evidenceofcorrosion was obthan1/16inch. loss i n s e r v e dt h a tc o u l de x p l a i nt h es l i g h t s t r e n g t h o f t h e i n t a c t PVC-coated specimen.) I ng e n e r a l ,f o ra l l specimentypes,theloss ofeffectiveareaoftheindividualwirescould not be accurately evaluated by measuring thechange i nd i a m e t e r .A f t e rt h ei n i t i a lp e r i o do f immersion, thecorrosionproduct on most wiresproduced an Nori n c r e a s ei nt h ea p p a r e n td i a m e t e ro ft h ew i r e . mally the product was s t a b l e andcouldnotbe completely removed bynaval j e l l y w i t h o u t mechanicalassistance. MICROSCOPIC TESTS Microscopicexaminationofeachtypeofwire showed t y p i c a l cold-worked grain structure. These g r a i n sw e r ea l i g n e dw i t ht h ea x i so ft h ew i r e ,a n d appeared uniform throughout the cross section of t h e wire. No e v i d e n c eo fc o r r o s i o na f f e c t i n gt h e was found i n t h e s e e x a m i n a t i o n s . interior of the wire RESULTS AND ANALYSIS Specimen
T~~
A

Tab2e I I .

E f f e c t o Corrosion on f Average Breakage Load

Average Breakage Load (lb) and Number of Tests Control N 38 Days N 115 Days N 150 Days N
801 935 3 742 506 414 2 6 6 407 2 . 6 6 6 6 6 1247 4 762 7
6

678
405 983

2
6

B C D

739 6 590 1175 1433 4 414 1207 1181 6 6

6

1033 6 1411 5 1086 1204 6 1182 6 1192 1163 6

1143 6 1129

E F G H I

1632 4 1644

1191

1186 6 1161

1143 6 6 6 1125

a specimens l o s t from t e s t frame

assumed t o be the same as H From Table I11 the expected trend toward an increasedstandarddeviationinthestrengthpropertywithexposuretimecanbeobserved,exceptin t h ec a s e so f D, G , and H . The i n c r e a s ei ns t a n d a r d d e v i a t i o n f o r F , t h e 304 s t a i n l e s s , i s pronounced i s not i nT a b l eI 1 1a l t h o u g ht h i se r r a t i cb e h a v i o r obviousfrom t h e a v e r a g e v a l u e s shown i n T a b l e 11.

From t h e s t a n d a r d d e v i a t i o n o f t h e c o n t r o l 111, i t c a n b e o b s e r v e d t h a t t h e t e n s i l e t e s t a p p a r a t u s and t h e t e s t p r o c e d u r e p r o duced t e s t r e s u l t s w i t h i n a n a c c e p t a b l e e x p e r i m e n t a l error.

samples i n T a b l e

tests Reduced d a t a from a t o t a l o f 1 8 3 t e n s i l e a r eg i v e ni nT a b l e s I1 and 111. Table I1 demonstrates the effect of corrosion bycomparing t h e averagebreakageloadsofeachspecimentypefor eachofthe immersion time i n t e r v a l s . The l e t t e r N d e s i g n a t e s t h e number o f t e s t v a l u e s r e p r e s e n t e d i n I11 g i v e st h eB e s s e l - c o r r e c t e d theaverage.Table s t a n d a r d d e v i a t i o n (S), t h e maximum t e n s i l e v a l u e , and t h e minimum tensile value of each specimen type ineachgroup.

The a v e r a g e b r e a k a g e l o a d d a t a a r e g r a p h i c a l l y i l l u s t r a t e di nF i g u r e 2 . The authorshavetaken thelibertyoffairinglinesthroughthefourdata pointsofeachspecimentype.Notefromthefigure G , H , I, and D showed t h a t a l l butspecimentypes an obvious decrease in average breakage load with timeofexposure. The PVC-coated ropes (H and I ) showed a s l i g h t l o s s i n a v e r a g e l o a d , w h i l e t h e aluminizedrope (G) showed a s l i g h t i n c r e a s e i n (D) mains t r e n g t h . The small galvanized strand t a i n e d a c o n s t a n ta v e r a g es t r e n g t ho v e rt h e 115 days exposure. of The 150-day samples were lost from t h e f r a m e d u e t o c o r r o s i o n damage a t t h e The average s t a p l e s some timebeforerecovery. breakageload o f t h e l a r g e g a l v a n i z e d s t r a n d i n i t i a l l y (38days)remainedunchanged,butsubseq u e n t l y showed a r e l a t i v e l yr a p i dd e c r e a s e .A f t e r 115daysofimmersiontheaveragebreakageloadof a t h e 304 s t a i n l e s s s t e e l d e c r e a s e d r a p i d l y w i t h l a r g ei n c r e a s ei ns c a t t e r . The s i n g l ew i r e (A) and t h e two b r i g h t musicwirestrands (B and C) show similar t r e n d s i n c o r r o s i o n damage a s measuredby theaveragebreakageload. The r e l a t i v e l yh i g h initialrateofcorrosion damage decreases, appardamage. e n t l y w i t h i n 38 d a y s , t o a c o n s t a n t r a t e o f The a p p a r e n t s i m i l a r i t y i n b e h a v i o r and t h e f a c t t h a t t h e d i f f e r e n c e s betweenthesespecimentypes o r protectivefilmsother didnotincludecoatings thanlubricantsuggestedthattheybegrouped together for further analysis.

IEEE OCEAN '75- 151

Table I I I .
Control Specimen S Max Min Type pounds) pounds) (in pounds) pounds) (in (in (in
A

V a r i a b i l i t y of t g n s i k t e s t
38 Days 115 Days

data
150 Days

Max

Min

Max

Min

Max

Min

17916 948 2 12 4 58 741 1445 418 1662 1218 1192 1196 736 1416 408 1544 1200 1165 1158

1 800 802 640 716 31 101 4 34 5 624 1186 418 1672 1210 1186 1184 531 1040 407 1586 1198 1174 1142

5423 721 762 44 89 7 167 436 3 33

32

B
C

552 1074 416 1620 1212 1195 1200 1182

440 900 398 1148 417 1188

39 151

466 1214

372 788

-155 421 5

-1468 1174 1196

-_
1026 396 1182 1124

E
F
G

7
12 14

4
16
118223

H
I

1122 1162 17 1100 1174 1028 52

--

--

--

1119

-_

1 .

where A i s t h e i n d i v i d u a l w i r e c r o s s - s e c t i o n a l a r e a , r i s t h e i n d i v i d u a l wire r a d i u s , s u b s c r i p t i i n d i catestheinitialvalues, and s u b s c r i p t f i n d i c a t e s t h ef i n a lv a l u e sa f t e rc o r r o s i o n damage. A mean p e n e t r a t i o n (Ar = r i - rf)canbeobtainedfromthe experimental the expression for above Pf/Pi as Ar = ri [1-(Pf/Pi)41

-----___

Since the corrosion rate can be defined as t h e t i m e r a t e of change of mean p e n e t r a t i o n , a CR w i l l be r e p r e s e n t e d by t h e s l o p e o f a p l o t o f Ar v e r s u s time ( t ) . Such a p l o t i s shown i nF i g u r e 3. I f theslopeofthestraightlines, which a r e f a i r e d through the three data points fromeachspecimen t y p e , i s i n t e r p r e t e d as CR i n i n c h e s p e r y e a r ( i p y ) , then
CRA = 0.0078 i p y

CRB = 0.0049 i p y
CRc = 0.0039 i p y
TIME IMMERSED (days1

Figure 2.

Average breakage load

A, B, and C

vs time

f o r specimen types A, B, and C , respectively. These pseudo corrosion rates a r e i n a reement with published average corrosion rates.

AnalysisofSpecimenTypes

By assuming t h a t t h e c o r r o s i o n damage a s measured by breakage load, hereafter designated by P, i s d u e e x c l u s i v e l y t o a loss i n c r o s s - s e c t i o n a l a r e a , a p s e u d oc o r r o s i o nr a t e (CR) c a nb ed e t e r mined. The normalizedbreakageloadcanbeexp r e s s e d as f o l l o w s :

--

Pf

-ff=-= -

IS

nrf2 of

rf2

Some i n t e r p r e t a t i o n i s r e q u i r e d t o e x p l a i n t h e fact that the straight lines drawn i n F i g u r e 3 do n o tp a s st h r o u g ht h eo r i g i n .T h i sf a c t may be o r both of the following explained by either one phenomena: f i r s t , a h i g h i n i t i a l rate o f c o r r o s i o n producedby t h e e l e c t r o l y t e o f t h e new environment, andsecond, a d i f f e r e n t mechanism o f t e n s i l e fract u r e a c t i v a t e d on b r i e f e x p o s u r e t o s e a water. That both phenomena a r e a c t i v e seems r e a s o n a b l e i n l i g h t of the kinetics of corrosion and the mechanics of f r a c t u r e .I n an e l e c t r o l y t es u c h as s e aw a t e rt h e i n i t i a l r e a c t i o n r a t e i s h i g h , e s p e c i a l l y a t high energy s i t e s , b e c a u s e t h e r e a c t a n t s a r e r e a d i l y a v a i l a b l e and d i f f u s i o n b a r r i e r s h a v e n o t been

152 - IEEE OCEAN '75

From t h e p l o t s i n F i g u r e 3 thefollowing p i r i c a l r e l a t i o n s h i p f o r Ar can be determined.

Ar=Ar + C t O R

em-

where Aro i s t h e i n t e r c e p t a t t = 0, and CR i s t h e s l o p eo ft h el i n ef o rt h es t r a n do fi n t e r e s t . Subf o r P f / P i g i v e st h e stitutingintothisequation d e s i r e de x p r e s s i o n

0.I

0.2

03 .

I 0.4

T h i se q u a t i o nc a nb eu s e dt oh e l ps e l e c t a c a b l e t h a t will e x h i b i t a " f i n a l " b r e a k i n g s t r e n g t h ( P f )a f t e rt i m e( t )e x p o s u r e i f cabledesignspec i f i c a t i o n s( r i ) and ( P i ) , and "materialconstants" (h0) and (CR) a r e known. Valuesfor ri and P i can C R c a nb ee s t i bereadilymeasured.Valuesfor Aro canbe mated from c o r r o s i o nt a b l e s .V a l u e so f determinedfromthetensiletestandfromplots shown h e r e . Table IV compares t h e e x p e r i m e n t a l l y o b s e r v e d average P f / P i and t h e v a l u e s f o r P f / P i a s c a l c u l a t e dw i t ht h ed e r i v e de x p r e s s i o n . The good agreement between t h e e x p e r i m e n t a l a n d t h e c a l c u l a t e d v a l u e si n d i c a t e st h a to n c et h ec o n s t a n t sa r e b e aded e t e r m i n e dt h ee x p e r i m e n t a lr e s u l t sc a n q u a t e l y r e p r e s e n t e d by t h e d e r i v e d e x p r e s s i o n .

TIME IMMERSED (years)

e s t a b l i s h e d .C o n c e n t r a t e dc o r r o s i o n damage a th i g h e n e r g ys i t e s ,s u c ha ss u r f a c ei n c l u s i o n s ,c a nd e c r e a s et h ea v e r a g es t r e s sr e q u i r e df o rc r a c k initiation. The e f f e c t i v e mean p e n e t r a t i o n c a n b e u s e d t o for P f / P i intermsof t , ri, developanexpression C R , and a c o n s t a n t Ar. The development assumes thatthecorrosion damage, a s measured by breakage load,can be modeled a s a r e a loss due t o uniform r a d i a lc o r r o s i o n . The l o s ta r e a i s modeled as an annuluswith a t h i c k n e s s e q u a l t o t h e mean p e n e t r a t ion. I f Pf!Pi i s assumed t o depend p r i m a r i l y on cross-sectlonalarea,thefollowingequationapplies:
0.82

-"able IV. Compmison of expel*irnentaZ m.2 c a l m l a t e d P f / P i .

Time Specimen Calculated Exposed Experimental Type (days 1

from Modela
0.87

115 150

0.79 0.73

0.78 0.74

0.80 B

38

115 150
0.82 38

0.68

0.65
0.57

0.55
The l o s t a r e a AA may beexpressedasanannulusof r i . For a s t r a n do f t h i c k n e s s Br a n do u t e rr a d i u s n w i r e so ft h e same s i z e
M = 2nIIr. A - nII (Ar)' and A . = n h . ' r

0.82 0.72 0.69

0.71 115 0.69 150

Substitutingtheserelationshipsfor t h ee q u a t i o n f o r P f / P i y i e l d s
"
2

A4 and A i i n t o

aConstantsdeterminedfrom

A versus t p l o t . r

CONCLUSIONS f o rs i n g l ew i r e s size. (n = 1)andstrandsofequalwire

1. Music w i r e s t r a n d a n d t h e s i n g l e c a r b o n steel w i r e showed approximatelyequalimmersiontime r a t e s o f l o s s in breakage load.

IEEE OCEAN '75 153 -

2 . The b a r e l u b r i c a t e d steel wires showed t h e h i g h est initial rate of corrosion damage. 3. The rate o f c o r r o s i o n damage t h a t c a u s e d t h e decrease in breakage load of the bright wires apparently decreased from a high initial rate to rate. alowerconstant
4 . The experimentalaveragebreakageload for the b a r e s t e e l w i r e s and s t r a n d s c a n b e a d e q u a t e l y r e p r e s e n t e d by an expression that i s developed on t h e a s s u m p t i o n t h a t t h e l o s s i n b r e a k a g e l o a d is exclusively due to the loss i n c r o s s - s e c t i o n a l wires. The two c o n s t a n t s a r e ao ft h ei n d i v i d u a l intheexpressionaredetermined, on t h e b a s i s r o f t h e same assumption,from a p l o t o f A v s t .

a s s i s t i n g i n t h e d e s i g n and implementation of the experiment. Honeywell personnel b u i l tt h et e s t f i x t u r e s andrecoveredthecorrodedspecimens.

APPENDIX A

5. Although the 3/64-inch galvanized wire s t r a n d showed noloadcapacity l o s s i n 115days,the wire breakage load of the 7/64-inch galvanized s t r a n d was s u b s t a n t i a l l y l o w e r .
6. The aluminizedrope showed no l o s s i n b r e a k a g e l o a d i n 150 daysofimmersion. 7. The PVC-coated wire ropewithandwithoutsimul a t e d f i s h b i t e showed l i t t l e l o s s ofbreakage l o a d i n 150days. 8 . The average load capacity of 304 s t a i n l e s s s t e e l 3/32-inch 1 x 1 9 s t r a n d d e c r e a s e d v e r y r a p i d l y 150 days o f immersion. between115and 9 .S t a i n l e s ss t e e l wire s t r a n d se x h i b i t e ds u b s t a n t i a l variationsinbreakageloadintestsafter 115daysand 150 daysofimmersion. REFERENCES 1. Lawrence Chase,"CausesofBreaks i n Wire Rope and Cable in Oceanographic Applications," Florkshop on Marine Wire Rope, Catholic Univers i t y o f America, August 11-13, 1970,pp.87-102.
2 . V.C.

Table AI shows the breakage load of each test and t h e g e n e r a l l o c a t i o n o f t h e b r e a k . A "t" f o l lowingthebreakageloadindicatesthatthebreak 1 inchofthetangent occurredwithinapproximately 1 ) . A "ell i n d i c a t e st h a tt h e n p o i n t( s e eF i g u r e break occurred a t o r c l o s e t o o n e o f t h e extensomIf no l e t t e rf o l l o w st h e n u m b e r , e t e rk n i f ee d g e s . the break occurred in the middle of the testsection. Each c o n s e c u t i v e p a i r o f numbers i n e a c h box o f theTablerepresentsthebreakageloadsfromone i s t h ev a l u e sample. The upper number o f e a c h p a i r o f t h e f i r s t t e n s i l e t e s t , which i s t a k e n from t h e t o p o f t h e immersed sample;thelower number i s t h e v a l u e from the second t e s t sample.

Table A I . Breakage load (Zb) and Location of break

Description single wire 115 Days 721 t 762 487 482 552 528 547 440 t
e

150 Days 716 t 640 e 426 466 372 415 363 387 1214 788 988 970 866 1074 t t t t t t t t t t

small bright music wire strand

739 t 739 e

t t t

music wire strand 1342 t 1186 t small galvanized

900 t 1013 1029 t 1012 1074 1074 404 e 398 416 t 411 t 402 413 1360 1148 1331 1482 1522 1610 886 1150 1208 417 1212 442 1203 1188 1192 1188 1192 1195 1190 1200 1195 1157 1122 1173 1128 1110 1102 1100 1182 1146 1132 t t t t t t t t e t t t t t t t t t t t t e

Petersonand D. Tamor, "Tests Show How Sea Water Affects Wire-Strand and Rope," Materiazs Protection, V7, N 5 , May 1968, 32-34. pp.

1662 t 1662 t t m e 304 Ginless steel strand

3. F.M. Reinhart,"Corrosion o f M a t e r i a l s i n Hydrospace," Part I , U.S. Naval C i v i lE n g i n e e r i n g Laboratory,Port Hueneme, Cal., J u l y1 9 6 7 . 4. J . H . Rigo,"CorrosionResistanceofStranded S t e e l Wire i n Sea Water," Materia& Protection, V 5 , N4, April 1966, 54-58. pp. 5. J . H . Rigo, !'Sea Water Tests DetermineCorrosion Resistance of Stranded Steel Wire,'! Materia& 28-37. Protection, V 1 , N7, July1962,pp. 6. W. Martin, "Wire-Rope CorrosionStudy," Honeywell MarineSystemsReport OD-7890, 1971. "Physical Oceanography, Marine 7. R.H. Fleming, Biology and General Summary," Puget Sound and Approaches, Literature Survey, VoL. 111, U . o f Washington, Department o f Oceanography, 1954. 8.Herbert H. Uhlig, Ed., The Corrosion H d o o k , JohnWileyandSons,Inc., New York,1969.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
t 1184

1151 t 1026 e 1468 t 1218 1258 1360 1074 e 1174 e 402 t 396

1202 1206 1200 1210 1218

t t t t

1198 1208 1206 1204 1198

t t t t

1166 aluminized rope

1165 1184 t 1190 t 1189 e 1184 1192 t t 1186 1164 t t 1142 et 1158 e 1195 t 1144 e 1196

1180 t 1182 1184 1174 t t

PVC-coated 1172 1188 or black plastic 1194 coated

1162 t 1184

1122 PVC-coated, with simulated 1119 fishbite

1182 1148 1145 1139

t t t

1196 1192 1182 1188 1196 1192 1124 1136 1162 1124 1152 1160 1028 1157 1150 1124 1174 1118

t e t t t t t t t t t t e t t

HoneywellMarineSystems,Seattle,Washington, made a s i g n i f i c a n t c o n t r i b u t i o n t o t h i s programby

154 - IEEE OCEAN '75