Basics of Corrosion

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 COURSE OBJECTIVE

To provide practicing Engineer, Chemist or

Technician with tools to minimize the costs
and risks of corrosion through an
understanding of the science (principles) and
engineering (prevention) of corrosion

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 INTRODUCTION

 Significance of Corrosion

 Cost of Corrosion

 Definitions

 Forms of Corrosion

 Corrosion Rate Determination

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 HOW CORROSION IS DEFINED ?

1. “Rust”. . . . metallic vs nonmetallic

2. Chemical/electrochemical vs mechanical degradation

3. Destruction of a material by chemical reaction
with the environment

4. Destruction of metals by means other than mechanical

5. Extractive metallurgy in reverse

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 IMPACT OF CORROSION RISKS

1. Economics – replacement, product loss, maintenance

and repair, redundancy, control, design

2. Safety – injuries, insurance, liability

3. Conservation – depletion of natural resources quickly

4. Politics – foreign dependence of critical resources

(Cr in stainless steel, Nb for high temp alloys)

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 COSTS OF CORROSION

The economic costs of corrosion in the USA have been

estimated between $8 billion and $126 billion.

More realistically, $30 billion could be saved each year

if all economically useful measures were taken to
prevent or minimize corrosion.

The current US gross national product is $9.289 trillion,

so that the cost of corrosion is 0.32% of the GNP.

DIRECT INDIRECT RECOVERABLE

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 DIRECT COSTS

1. Maintenance

2. Labor
3. Replacement

4. Prevention
5. Resistant Materials

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 INDIRECT COSTS

1. Plant downtime

2. Loss of product
3. Reduced efficiency

4. Contamination

5. Over-design

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 RECOVERABLE COSTS

1. R&D

2. Technology transfer
3. Deferred maintenance

4. Environmental modification

5. Material selection
6. Performance requirements

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What is Chemical Reaction

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What is Electrochemical Reaction

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 Corrosion Cell

It is comprised of FOUR basic

elements:
– Anode
– Cathode
– Electrolyte
– Metallic Conductor

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 3. Electron path

1. Anode

2. Cathode

4. Electrolyte
METAL DISSOLUTION

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Conditions required to establish anode
and cathode
• Dissimilar metal corrosion cell
• Dissimilar environment
• Differential aeration cell
• New portion and old portion
• Mill scale
• Others

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The electrolytic corrosion of pearlite

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Basic Corrosion Cell

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Common Cathodic Reactions

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GALVANIC / EMF SERIES IN SEAWATER

Reduction 

Noble 
Active 

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The conventional direction of current is
opposite to that in electron flow

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Corrosion caused by a mixture
of different soils

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Corrosion caused by a mixture
of different soils

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 Corrosion from differential aeration
)Arrows indicate direction of current flow(

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 ANODIC
POLARIZATION

Polarization

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PASSIVITY

Transpassive

Passive 24
 UNIFORM CORROSION

Metal dissolution

Greatest destruction in tons; predictable,

acceptable for design 25
 GALVANIC CORROSION

Anode Cathode

Dissimilar metals electrically coupled 26

 CREVICE CORROSION

Crevice

Oxygen depletion, concentration cells

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 PITTING ATTACK

Localized penetration

Most destructive and insidious form 28

 ENVIRONMENTALLY-INDUCED
CRACKING (EIC)

SCC CFC HIC

Brittle fracture of a normally ductile alloy
in a hostile environment 29
 HYDROGEN DAMAGE

H + H = H2

Voids formed when atomic hydrogen

collects in internal defects 30
INTERGRANULAR CORROSION

IGC

Localized attack due to segregation

at grain boundaries 31
 DEALLOYING

Zn

Cu rich

Dezincification

Selective corrosion of active alloying

element from an alloyed metal 32
 EROSION - FRETTING
Corrosive, high flow velocity fluid

Relative movement between fluid and

metal or metal and metal 33
 CORROSION
The corrosion rate of titanium was measured at 100 mpy in dilute
sulfuric acid which was free of dissolved oxygen and other dissolved
oxidizers. Iron was found to corrode at 250 mpy in the same
conditions. Contamination by Fe3+ ion produced a decrease in
corrosion rate of titanium to 1.5 mpy and an increase in the corrosion
rate of iron to 3500 mpy. How could this happen?

Ti

Passivity Polarization
Potential 

Fe
Ecorr (+ Fe3+)
(+)

Ecorr (w/o Fe3+)

1.5 100 250 3500

Log Corrosion Rate
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 CORROSION RATE

MPY (mils / yr) = 534 W

DAT

W = weight (mg)
D = density (gm/cm3)
A = area (in2)
T = time (hrs)

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COMPARISON OF CORROSION RATES

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CORROSION TEST OBJECTIVES

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