CORROSION ENVIRONMENT

Corrosion is the destructive attack of a material by reaction with its environment. The
serious consequences of the corrosion process have become a problem of worldwide
significance. In addition to our everyday encounters with this form of degradation, corrosion
causes plant shutdowns, waste of valuable resources, loss or contamination of product,
reduction in efficiency, costly maintenance, and expensive overdesign. It can also jeopardize
safety and inhibit technological progress. Step 1 iron + oxygen --> iron oxide Step 2 iron oxide +
water --> hydrated iron oxide (rust) Corrosion is the atmospheric oxidation of metals. That
means that oxygen combines with the metal and forms a new layer. This layer can be good or
bad. By far the most important form of corrosion is the rusting of iron and steel. Rusting is a
process of oxidation in which iron combines with water and oxygen to form rust, the reddishbrown crust that forms on the surface of the iron. Because iron is so widely used, e.g., in
building construction and in tools, its protection against rusting is important. Rusting can be
prevented by excluding air and water from the iron surface, e.g., by painting, oiling, or greasing,
or by plating the iron with a protective coating of another metal. Many alloys of iron are resistant
to corrosion. Stainless steels are alloys of iron with such metals as chromium and nickel; they
do not corrode because the added metals help form a hard, adherent oxide coating that resists
further attack.
Although metals like aluminum, chromium, and zinc corrode more readily than iron, their
oxides form a coating that protects the metal from further attack. Rust is brittle and flakes off the
surface of the iron, continually exposing a fresh surface. Thus these metals might be a better
selection choice for a product that will be exposed to rusting conditions, like water and air.
Recognizing the symptoms and mechanism of a corrosion problem is an important
preliminary step on the road to finding a convenient solution. There are basically five methods of
corrosion control: Change to a more suitable material Modifications to the environment with the
use of inhibitors Use of protective metallic or organic coatings Design modifications to the
system or component Provide adequate ventilation and drainage to minimize the accumulation
of condensation Avoid depressed areas where drainage is inadequate Avoid the use of
absorptive materials (such as felt, asbestos and fabrics) in contact with metallic surfaces)
Prepare surfaces adequately prior to the application of any protective coating system. Provide
easy access for the purposes of corrosion inspection and maintenance work
CORROSION PREVENTION
Corrosion Prevention of reinforced concrete structures is an increasingly important
method of repairing and protecting spalling concrete, damaged bridges, steel framed buildings,
harbours, wharves and other structures. It can also be applied to protect new structures,
applying corrosion prevention techniques, to ensure the problem does not occur in the first
place.
Corrosion is probably the single most serious cause of deterioration of reinforced
concrete structures. Buildings and bridges are suffering from corrosion because of
contamination by de-icing salt, sea salt and salts cast into the concrete and the carbonation of
concrete. A Dept of Transport report has shown that over half a billion pounds worth of
corrosion prevention is necessary in the future to preserve the motorway and trunk road system
in England and Wales. The Highways Agency has recently endorsed the use of corrosion
prevention methods utilising cathodic protection, realkalisation, chloride extraction, corrosion
inhibitors and other similar techniques. Comparable problems exist on other reinforced concrete
structures all over the world.

These well proven methods are technically sound solutions because they deal with the
corrosion problem across the entire area treated. This cannot be achieved with conventional
repair methods without removing all the concrete where salt or carbon dioxide has penetrated.
Such extensive repair is frequently prohibitive in terms of practicality and cost.
Corrosion prevention is often the most economical solution when compared with
conventional concrete removal and repair. When applying corrosion prevention techniques to
existing structures all that is additionally required is some cosmetic patching to repair cracks
and areas where concrete has broken away.
Corrosion prevention and protection systems have been successfully installed on a wide
range of reinforced concrete structures. These include bridge decks and support structures,
wharves and other harbour structures, tunnels, water towers and other containment vessels,
commercial and residential buildings. Installations have been carried out in North America, the
United Kingdom, Europe, the Middle and the Far East and Australasia.
OXIDATION
Oxidation is defined as the interaction between oxygen molecules and all the different
substances they may contact, from metal to living tissue. Technically, however, with the
discovery of electrons, oxidation came to be more precisely defined as the loss of at least one
electron when two or more substances interact. Those substances may or may not include
oxygen. (Incidentally, the opposite of oxidation is reduction the addition of at least one
electron when substances come into contact with each other.) Sometimes oxidation is not such
a bad thing, as in the formation of super-durable anodized aluminum. Other times, oxidation can
be destructive, such as the rusting of an automobile or the spoiling of fresh fruit. We often used
the words oxidation and rust interchangeably, but not all materials which interact with oxygen
molecules actually disintegrate into rust. In the case of iron, the oxygen creates a slow burning
process, which results in the brittle brown substance we call rust. When oxidation occurs in
copper, on the other hand, the result is a greenish coating called copper oxide. The metal itself
is not weakened by oxidation, but the surface develops a patina after years of exposure to air
and water.