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

Sheir, 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
Reverse2

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

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

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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 Corrosion4

Uhlig, 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 Direct Cost
Country 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)

Bhaskaran, R., N. Palaniswamy, and N.S. Rengaswamy, Global Cost of CorrosionA Historical Review,
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in Corrosion: Materials, Vol 13B, ASM Handbook. 2005, ASM International. 14

Example of Overdesign3

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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SoWhy 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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