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FORMS OF CORROSION

The main questions generally asked by most people facing a corrosion problem are

How serious is this problem?


How can it be fixed and how much will it cost?
What caused the problem in the first place?

Classification of corrosion

Basis for this classification being the appearance of the corroded metal.

Each form can be identified by mere visual observation. In most cases the naked eye is
sufficient, but sometimes magnification is helpful or required.

Valuable information for the solution of a corrosion problem can often be obtained
through careful observation of the corroded test specimens or failed equipment.
Group II: Corrosion damage that may require supplementary means of examination for
identification.

4. Velocity effects include erosioncorrosion, a form of attack caused by high velocity


flow; cavitation caused at even higher flow by the collapse of bubbles formed at areas of
low pressure in a flowing stream; and fretting that is caused by vibratory relative motion
of two surfaces in close contact under load (erosioncorrosion, cavitation, fretting).

5. Intergranular corrosion at the grain boundaries in the metal structure (intergranular,


exfoliation).

6. Dealloying corrosion due to the selective dissolution of one component of an alloy.


Any damaging corrosion process of these types often act in synergy.

The unfolding of a crevice situation, for example, will typically create an environment
favorable for pitting, intergranular attack, and even cracking.

The actual importance of each corrosion type will also differ between systems,
environments, and other operational variables.

However, there are surprising similarities in the corrosion failure within same industry.

Failure-statistics of large chemical process plant in Germany (a), and in the United States (b).
Uniform corrosion corresponds to the corrosion attack with the greatest metal weight
loss.

Uniform attack is relatively detectable and its effects predictable hence it is deemed to
be less troublesome than other forms of corrosion unless the corroding material is
hidden from sight.

Designing in a system a corrosion allowance based on the possible loss of a material


thickness is one of the simplest methods for dealing with uniform attack.

Ultrasonic inspection: The time the wave of known velocity takes to travel through the
material is used to determine its thickness.
Galvanic corrosion (also called dissimilar metal corrosion) refers to corrosion damage
induced when two dissimilar materials are coupled in a corrosive electrolyte.

In a bimetallic couple, the less noble material becomes the anode and tends to corrode
at an accelerated rate, compared with the uncoupled condition and the more noble
material will act as the cathode in the corrosion cell.

The driving force for current and corrosion is the potential developed between two
metals. EMF series can guide on this.

However, in actual corrosion problems, galvanic coupling between metals in equilibrium


with their ions rarely occur.

Most galvanic corrosion results from the electrical connection of two corroding metals.

Most engineering materials are alloys so galvanic series gives more accurate prediction.
Galvanic Series

The potential of a metal in a solution is related to the energy that is released when the
metal corrodes.

Differences in corrosion potentials of dissimilar metals can be measured in specific


environments by measuring the direction of the current that is generated by the
galvanic action of these metals when exposed in a given environment.

An arrangement of metals in a galvanic series based on potential measurements and


galvanic corrosion tests in seawater.

Several metals are grouped. The potential differences within a group are not likely to be
great and the metals can be combined without substantial galvanic effects under many
circumstances.

Values of potential can change from one solution to another or in any solution when
influenced by such factors as temperature, aeration, and velocity of movement.

So, there is no way, other than by direct potential measurements in the exact
environment of interest, to predict the potentials of the metals and the consequent
direction of a galvanic effect in that environment.
Passivity influences
galvanic corrosion. Hence
alloys in passive state
assume more noble
position as compared to
their active state .
AREA EFFECT

From the standpoint of practical corrosion resistance, the most unfavorable ratio is a
very large cathode connected to a very small anode.

If the electrical conductance of the electrolyte bridging the galvanic contact is low,
either because the bulk conductivity is low or because the electrolyte is present only
as a thin film as is the case in atmospheric exposure to humid environments, the
effective areas taking part in galvanic cell reactions are small and the total amount of
corrosion is generally small or negligible, except maybe in the immediate vicinity of
the metal junction.

Under immersed conditions in many supply waters, which generally have a relatively
low electrical conductivity, adverse effects are uncommon if the contacting metals are
of similar area.
Thus galvanized steel pipes can be used with brass connectors, but serious corrosion
to the pipe end is likely to result if the contact is made directly to a large area of
copper, such as a tank or cylinder.
Similarly, stainless steel and copper tubes can usually be joined without causing
problems, but accelerated corrosion of the copper tube is likely to occur if it is
attached to a stainless-steel tank.
Under immersed conditions in a highly conducting electrolyte, such as seawater,
effective areas will be greater and severe corrosion may be encountered on small
anodic areas of many metals.
Galvanic corrosion data for various metals coupled to aluminum in seawater. For
each couple in Fig. 5.4, the anodic to cathodic area ratios were held constant.

Mccafferty
PROTECTIVE COATING
Sacrificial Noble metal

Pieere Roberge
Cross-sectional views through the coated specimen after 15 days of immersion in
flowing seawater. Top: The unconsolidated sample shows pitting attack of the
steel at the coating/substrate interface. Bottom: The sample was
consolidated by laser melting approximately one-third of the coating thickness
and showed no evidence of corrosion [7]. Reprinted with permission of NACE
International 1981------- E.Mccafferty
Crevice corrosion occurs in cracks or crevices formed between mating surfaces of
metal assemblies, and usually takes the form of pitting or etched patches.

Both surfaces may be of the same metal or of dissimilar metals, or one surface may
be a nonmetal.

It can also occur under scale and surface deposits and under loose fitting washers
and gaskets that do not prevent the entry of liquid between them and the metal
surface.

Crevices may proceed inward from a surface exposed to air, or may exist in an
immersed structure.

It is a localized form of corrosion associated with stagnant electrolyte.

It can also occur under passive films at local breakdown areas.


Poultice corrosion is a special
form of crevice corrosion which
forms when absorptive debris
such as paper, wood, asbestos,
sacking, cloth, and so forth., are
in contact with a metal surface
that becomes wetted
periodically. No action occurs
while the entire assembly is
wet, but during the drying
period, adjacent wet and dry
areas develop. A differential
aeration cell develops near the
edges of the wet zones leading
to corrosion.

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