NUCL 4610U – Corrosion Project

Part 1 – Field Work (15 Marks)

Introduction
From our lecture notes, we have identified (or will identify) 8 types of corrosion. Of these, the
most common four are listed here:
1. uniform corrosion
2. crevice corrosion
3. pitting corrosion
4. galvanic corrosion
Parameters for the Assignment
This is an individual project – group work is not acceptable nor is sharing of pictures acceptable.
Only pictures taken by you are allowed, so downloading images from the web are not acceptable.
The purposes of this task are:
1. to be able to recognize different types of corrosion;
2. to have a bit of fun with the subject matter.
The project is due at 15h00 Wednesday August 4, 2021, via CANVAS. No extensions will be
granted.
Type of Submission
The minimum submission requirement is either a word document or a powerpoint presentation.
Other forms are possible (provided that they can be seen and electronically submitted).
Citation of the Pictures
A clear description of the type of corrosion should be made, indicating the location found, when
the picture was taken, and a scale. A brief analysis (one or two sentences) should be included to
describe why you believe it to be the type of corrosion that you have identified it to be.
Part 2 – Situational Analysis (30 Marks)
Instructions
Answer the following questions in sentence form, providing supporting diagrams as appropriate.
For calculations, show your work, stating any assumptions that you make.

The Situation
Three Alloys, α, β, and γ have been selected as candidate materials for a chemical tank intended
to operate in a corrosive, pH 1 environment at 100°C. The alloys are of similar compositions,
with different concentrations of metals A, B, and C. Polarization curves for each of these
materials are given in Figure 1. The cathodic curve is also presented.

A) Rank the alloys in order of decreasing uniform corrosion rate and explain your reasons for
the ranking. (5 marks)

B) Redraw Figure 1 and mark the corrosion potential for each alloy on this figure. (3 marks)

C) Given the oxygen concentration in the solution at 100°C is 10 -6 mol/cm3 for a solution in
contact with 1 atm air, determine the equilibrium potential for the oxygen reaction, and the
diffusion limited current for oxygen reduction (use a diffusion coefficient of 5x10-5 cm2s,
and a diffusion layer thickness of 0.005 cm). (5 marks)

D) Using the overpotential data below, sketch the polarization curve for oxygen reduction onto
a copy of Figure 1. Use both the Tafel relationship and the diffusion limited current, if
applicable.
Overvoltage / V
at 10 A/cm2 at 1.0 A/cm2
Oxygen 0.808 0.655
(7 marks)

E) What are the thermodynamically stable solids in this system, based on the Pourbaix
diagrams in Figure 2, and the corrosion potential from Figure 1. (5 marks)

F) What are the stable species in solution for the Alloy α system? (recall all 3 metals are
included in the alloy) (5 marks)

Bonus Mark: What are the metals A, B, and C?

Figure 1. Polarization diagram for three different metals, α, β, and γ.
Figure 2. Pourbaix diagram for main components in Metals A, B, and C exposed to 100°C
water. Note: B is not Boron and C is not carbon.