ChE 4751

Corrosion Science and Engineering

Md. Jahirul Islam

Lecturer
Department of Chemical Engineering
Dhaka University of Engineering and Technology, Gazipur
 Course Content
Basic concepts: definition and importance, electrochemical nature and forms of corrosion,
corrosion rate and its determination.

Electrochemical thermodynamics and kinetics: electrode potentials, potential-pH(pourbaix)

diagrams, reference electrodes and experimental measurements, faraday’s laws, instrumentation
and experimental procedure.

Galvanic and concentration cell corrosion: basic concepts, experimental measurements, and
determination of rates of galvanic corrosion, concentration cells.

Passivity: basic concepts of passivity, properties of passive films, experimental measurement,

applications of potentiostatic anodic polarization, anodic protection.

Pitting and crevice corrosion: mechanisms of pitting and crevice corrosion, secondary forms of
crevice corrosion, localized pitting, metallurgical features and corrosion: intergranular corrosion,
weldment corrosion, de-alloying and dezincification.

© Md. Jahirul Islam , Lecturer

 Reference Books

• Corrosion engineering an introductory text by Nooruddin Ahmed; Iqbal

Mahmud.

• Revie, R. W. (2008). Corrosion and corrosion control: an introduction

to corrosion science and engineering. John Wiley & Sons.

• Ahmad, Z. (2006). Principles of corrosion engineering and corrosion

control. Elsevier.

• Fontana, M. G. (2005). Corrosion engineering. Tata McGraw-Hill

Education.

• Jones, D. A. (1996). Principles and prevention of corrosion prentice

hall. Saddle River.

© Md. Jahirul Islam , Lecturer

 Course Outline

• Introduction to Corrosion

• Corrosion Mechanism

• Thermodynamics in corrosion

• Polarization

• Passivation

• Engineering material

• Corrosion in iron and steel

© Md. Jahirul Islam , Lecturer

Introduction to Corrosion

© Md. Jahirul Islam , Lecturer

 Introduction to Corrosion

• 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 a metal or an alloy environment or medium

• Up to the 1960s, the term corrosion was restricted only to metals and their
alloys, and it did not incorporate ceramics, polymers, composites and
semiconductors in its regime.

• The term corrosion now encompasses all types of natural and man-made
materials including biomaterials and nanomaterials, and it is not confined to
metals and alloys alone.

© Md. Jahirul Islam , Lecturer

 Corrosion vs Rusting
• Corrosion is the chemical, electrochemical, or other processes that cause materials
to deteriorate. Rusting is a chemical process that results in the creation of a red or
orange coating on the surface of metals.
• All rusting is corrosion, but all corrosion is not rusting.

© Md. Jahirul Islam , Lecturer

 Corrosion: Metallurgy in Reverse

• Corrosion is an extractive metallurgy in reverse.

Iron is made from hematite by heating with carbon. Iron corrodes and
reverts to rust, thus completing its life cycle. The hematite and rust have
the same composition.

Figure: Refining-corrosion cycle

© Md. Jahirul Islam , Lecturer
 Consequences of Corrosion

• Plant shutdowns
Shutdown of nuclear plants, process plants, power plants and refineries
may cause severe problems to industry and consumers.

• Loss of products
leaking containers, storage tanks, water and oil transportation lines and fuel
tanks cause significant loss of product and may generate severe accidents
and hazards. It is well-known that at least 25% of water is lost by leakage.

• Loss of efficiency
Insulation of heat exchanger tubing and pipelines by corrosion products
reduces heat transfer and piping capacity

© Md. Jahirul Islam , Lecturer

 Example of Overdesign
• An 8" in. dia oil pipeline 225 miles long with a 1 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%.

© Md. Jahirul Islam , Lecturer

 Reasons to Study Corrosion

• Materials are precious resources of a country.

• Engineering knowledge is incomplete without an understanding of corrosion.

• Applying knowledge of corrosion protection can minimize disasters for which corrosion
is responsible

• Corrosion – contaminate products such as pharmaceutical, food and dairy products or

luxury items like soap

• The designing of artificial implants for the human body requires a complete
understanding of the corrosion science and engineering.

• Corrosion is a threat to the environment. For instance, water can become contaminated
by corrosion products and unsuitable for consumption.

© Md. Jahirul Islam , Lecturer

 The Functions and Roles of 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.
© Md. Jahirul Islam , Lecturer