Unlocking and Managing the Effects of Corrosion

Unlocking and Managing the Effects of Corrosion

Blogs, The Fundamentals of Corrosion

Fundamentals of Corrosion Explained

The effects of corrosion include the ultimate destruction of possessions and products (if the product is left untreated) and a real but hidden financial cost. That cost of corrosion is passed onto consumers and businesses – and it’s colossal.

A two-year study by NACE put the corrosion cost at $2.5 trillion each year, or around 3% of global GDP. The study also estimated that implementing best practices in corrosion prevention could result in as much as $875 billion in savings. Imagine the positive effect that releasing this cash could have on world economic growth.

In this article, we briefly discuss the fundamentals of corrosion – the who, what and how of corrosion management.

Who is affected by the effects of corrosion?

There is not a single life on this planet that is not affected by corrosion. Of course, those in developed countries suffer a greater direct impact, but corroded metals seep into the earth, rivers, seas and air. As do chemicals and other hazardous materials which escape because of corrosion in pipes and tanks. Eventually this pollution goes global.

Even more serious than the cost of corrosion is the impact it has on our safety. The effects of corrosion of steel reinforcing bars in concrete can lead to collapse of buildings, bridges and roads. Corrosion of components in planes, trains and automobiles can have disastrous consequences.

Energy and utility companies are in a constant battle against corrosion, with the effects of corrosion causing disruption and cost from drilling platforms to domestic pipelines.

Corrosion causes financial costs, health and safety issues, and loss of life. It’s unsightly and depletes the world’s natural resources.

At the forefront of corrosion prevention are engineers, paint inspectors, designers, technicians and scientists. Engineers in civil, mechanical and naval fields are continually assessing potential or actual corrosion and incorporating anti-corrosion measures into their projects and work strategies.

What are the mechanisms of corrosion?

Classification of the type of corrosion present is commonly made on one of the following three factors:

  1. The nature of the corrosion (immersed or atmospheric)
  2. The mechanism of the corrosion (electrochemical or chemical reactions)
  3. The appearance of the corrosion (uniform or localised)

There are many techniques and tools that are used to help in the detection and classification of corrosion. Eight common forms of wet corrosion can be identified by their appearance:

  1. Uniform corrosion (when the entire surface is corroding at the same rate)
  2. Pitting corrosion (small holes in the metal)
  3. Crevice corrosion (corrosion that occurs in the gap between two adjoining surfaces)
  4. Galvanic corrosion (corrosion of one metal preferentially to another with which it is in electrical contact)
  5. Erosion corrosion, including cavitation and fretting (degradation of a metal due to the relative motion of a corrosive fluid)
  6. Intergranular corrosion (localised corrosion along the grain boundaries of a metal while the bulk of the grains remain unaffected)
  7. Dealloying (occurring in certain alloy metals, in which the alloy metal loses its reactive element and retains the corrosion resistant element)
  8. Environmentally assisted cracking, such as stress corrosion (cracking caused by tensile stress in a corrosive environment)

To identify some of these types of corrosion, you may need to use advanced techniques such as optical or electron microscopy.

How can you manage corrosion?

There are five principal strategies in corrosion prevention:

1.      Selection of materials

Some metals are highly resistant to corrosion (such as gold and platinum), while others have a low resistance to corrosion (like sodium and magnesium).

By using appropriate metals (or alloys) for specific use and environment, engineers can increase the life of products. Their cost is obviously a very important factor in this decision.

2.      Inhibitors

Some chemicals act to inhibit corrosion. These include silicates, phosphates, nitrites, and organic amines. Inhibitors are generally preferred in closed systems where the presence of the inhibitor can be more easily maintained (for example in heating and cooling systems towers).

3.      Coating

Coating isolates the metal from the corrosive environment surrounding it. The coating may be metallic (for example, tin-plated steel). They may also work like galvanised steel in which the coating corrodes in preference to the metal beneath. Coatings are commonly non-metallic, such as paint, and may be either organic or inorganic.

4.      Cathodic protection

Cathodic protection works by applying an external electrical current so that the corrosion reaction takes place on a separate surface to the metal to be protected, with electrons forced to flow to the metal that is to be protected.

5.      Design

Designing products and structures to eliminate or minimise the potential for corrosion helps to reduce maintenance and repair costs and time; for example, by designing structures with fewer crevices in which corrosion often develops.

Obtain Professional Membership of ICorr with ‘Fundamentals of Corrosion’ training

For all who want to expand their career opportunities or wish to expand or refresh their knowledge of corrosion, the Institute of Corrosion offers the five-day Fundamentals of Corrosion for Engineers Course. Successful completion of the course is required to obtain Professional Membership of the Institute of Corrosion if you don’t have either formal qualifications in corrosion or relevant experience.

The interactive course takes place in a classroom format. During the first four days, your time will be occupied by talks and practical sessions. On the last day, there is a short review and an examination. In the course, you will learn:

  • Basic corrosion science and corrosion mechanisms
  • The electrochemical series and its practical uses
  • Corrosion prevention and management methods
  • The basics of cathodic protection
  • Surface preparation challenges, paints and coatings
  • Corrosion and environmental conditions
  • The basics of material selection and design
  • The basics of corrosion testing and monitoring

Presented by Dr Jane Lomas, a corrosion and coatings engineer with more than 30 years corrosion experience, and guest presenter Dr Les Callow, a metallurgist and corrosion engineer with more than 40 years of corrosion experience across multiple industries, this course redefines training standards in fundamentals of corrosion.

For more information and dates of upcoming Fundamentals of Corrosion courses, click here.

Places on this course are strictly limited to 10 people. To ensure you are not disappointed, download the booking form and email it to admin@icorr.org today.

William Michael (Bill) Cox (14 Apr 1950 – 3 Dec 2019)

William Michael (Bill) Cox (14 Apr 1950 – 3 Dec 2019)

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William Michael (Bill) Cox (14 Apr 1950 – 3 Dec 2019)

I first met Bill shortly after I joined the UMIST Corrosion and Protection Centre in 1983. I had been interested in corrosion sensors for detection of hydrogen, and had several discussions with him about the feasibility of the various available corrosion detection methods (mine was useless!). He always focussed on the argument that there was no point knowing whether corrosion was happening unless you also were prepared to intervene to manage the corrosion process. However, at the time industry was more interested in repair after failure rather than management of the processes leading to failure. Of course, being 10-15 years’ ahead of the game Bill was exactly right and over his career he became one of the leading figures in risk and asset management of plant where corrosion is generally the dominant failure process.

Born in Keithley in Yorkshire, Bill was a boy soprano and chorister, he played the piano and the guitar, he was a keen motorcyclist and owner of a vintage BMW K100RS, a very devoted family man, and a serial speeder in either of his two elderly Audis.  He completed his undergraduate studies in metallurgy on a sandwich course at the University of Aston in Birmingham in 1975 during which time he met the ‘girl’ who was later to become his wife.  On completion of the programme he went to work at the copper-nickel smelter in Selebi Phikwe in Botswana.  He loved working with hot metal and the problem solving involved with developing the plant in harsh working conditions.   

In 1978 he moved back to the UK to study for an MSc in Corrosion Science and Engineering at the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST) and in the same year married Anna. After completing his MSc he stayed on to undertake a PhD with John Dawson on “Acid Dewpoint Corrosion”, a problem that was beginning to become of significant commercial concern particularly in power generation and steam-raising plant. Graduating in 1981, he linked up with the Corrosion and Protection Centre Industrial Service (CAPCIS) to develop expertise in, and to market, the on-line electrochemically based corrosion monitoring methods that he had pioneered during his PhD. Working with John Dawson, Steve Turgoose, Graham Wood and Howard Stott from the academic side and, from CAPCIS and industry, with Dave Geary, Dave Eden, Jim Palmer, Bob Eden, Karel Hladky, Les Woolf, Dave Farrell, Paul Bottomley, Barry Meadowcroft, Kevin Lawson, Wai Him, Wai Yeung Mok, and many others. He rapidly developed a significant business based on electrochemical noise instrumentation and sensors that enabled tight process control to be introduced to minimise the conditions leading to corrosion damage. This business eventually become Capcis-March Ltd., for which Bill was managing and operations director – one of the first successful companies to be spun out of UMIST. After 16 years at Manchester he left to found Corrosion Management Ltd, promoting his expertise in the application of advanced corrosion monitoring with risk-based inspection and risk based maintenance technologies for the process industries, as well as general failure investigation and litigation work. His client base was worldwide with projects in Europe, North America and Pacific East Asia.

A strong supporter of ICorr (as Member of Council and of the Training and Certification Board for 20 years and President from 1996-98), IOM3 (as Member of Council from 1993-2003), BINDT (as member of the PCN Certification Board) and NACE (as both Member and Chair of its International Relations Strategy Operations Committee) and was a Fellow of all of these Institutions, the last being a singular Honour. As well as attending (and organising) many conferences, seminars and publishing more than 32 papers, Bill also found time to act as Technical Advisory Editor for Anti-Corrosion Methods and Materials for over 10 years, significantly increasing the journal’s profile.

Well known for his eponymous number plate “B111 COX”, acquired after a nudge from Les Woolf, Bill directly launched and influenced the careers of many people now in senior positions in the corrosion industry. He was always generous with his time and was ever willing to provide advice and mentoring to anyone who asked. Creditably, he always did what he said he would do with energy and enthusiasm, he was straight talking and importantly also straight doing. He is a huge loss and we shall all miss him. The corrosion community has lost one of its great characters.

Bill is survived by his wife Anna and daughter Ella.

With thanks to former colleagues, friends and family who corrected the detail and supplied anecdotes too numerous to mention.

© Stuart Lyon, Corrosion@Manchester, Dept. of Materials, University of Manchester.  Licenced under CC-BY-NC

Midland Branch AGM

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Following a very successful half day event and AGM in 2019, the branch plans to start 2020 with a meeting at the end of Feb (date and venue to be confirmed), with Prafull Sharma from corrosion radar presenting ‘Corrosion Under Insulation online monitoring with Electro-Magnetic Guided Radar (EMGR)’. CUI is a big issue for the corrosion industry therefore any innovative monitoring system will be very beneficial in the goal to mitigate corrosion. It is therefore likely to be a well-attended meeting.

For any branch queries, please contact Bill Whittaker, bwhittaker@cathodicengineering.co.uk, or Paul Segers, paul.segers@segcorr.com

London Branch Luncheon

London Branch Luncheon

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London Branch

The 2019 branch luncheon proved to be another great success, as the audience was bowled over by an enthralling guest appearance from legendary cricket commentator Henry Blofeld OBE. The unmistakable voice of the Test Match Special, regaled the crowd at the Royal Overseas League in Mayfair with stories from his 45-year career behind the mic, and his two books, which he happily signed for guests after the lunch.

Before the 170 guests settled in the Hall of India and Pakistan for the afternoon, the branch team of diligent raffle sellers had time to mingle and raise an approximate £1,650, which will help fund the future branch series of evening lectures. The contribution from Henry was greatly appreciated, as was the involvement of the event’s sponsors, which this year included Winn and Coles, DuraPol, Corrosion Integrity Management, Correx, and CTS.

The annual event also gave guests the opportunity to reflect on those that the industry lost this year, and in particular the passing of Bill Cox. Tributes to him were led by Institute President Gareth Hinds, who gave a superb account of the excellent work that Bill had done for the Institute during many years of service, which culminated in a rousing applause that Bill would have undoubtedly appreciated.

Preparation has already begun for the 2020 Luncheon, as well as a possible summer ball in London 2021, which will celebrate the 25th anniversary of the of the change of name of the Institute from the British Association of Corrosion Engineers (BACE) in 1966 to the Institute of Corrosion Science & Technology , which was the forerunner of the current Institute of Corrosion. 

The first meeting of the branch on Wednesday 8th January had 40 attendees and started with an introduction to the new branding concepts for the Institute, which will be launched in February this year, given by Marc Desmeules, who gave a fascinating insight into the process behind designing a new logo which was the start of the rebranding exercise.

The main technical meeting followed which was a panel discussion on the complexities of internal linings, the selection variables and the link to design standards. The first presentation was from Dr Nasa Miskin from DuraPol who gave a presentation on “Corrosion Prevention in Acid Gas Treating Units”, an extremely difficult and complex environment for any lining system. This was followed by a presentation from Simon Daly of Hempel on “Internal Linings; Selection Variables and Link to Design Standards” which culminated in a discussion on the requirements for the new ISO standard for the internal lining of process vessels.

Both presentations are available to view on the Institute of Corrosion website. It was a successful evening and fantastic to see both the young engineers and branch members in discussion over refreshments afterwards.

The March meeting will be the branch AGM, followed by  the chairman’s talk. Please note the date, Tuesday 10th March.

Coronavirus – Latest Advice

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The Institute of Corrosion continues to follow the official UK government guidelines on how to mitigate the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19).

Our major priority is the safety and welfare of our members, officers and staff. Our main office at Corrosion House is open, with appropriate social distancing and safety measures in place for our staff and visitors.

Our training course providers will provide regular updates via their websites.

We appreciate the patience and support of our members in these challenging circumstances.