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Corrosion Basics

Corrosion is the natural deterioration of materials that results from chemical reactions with the environment. Like natural disasters, corrosion can cause dangerous and expensive damage, but it can be prevented or controlled using proven methods. Corrosion is a complex process affected by numerous environmental factors and the material being corroded. Effective prevention requires understanding these factors and how different forms of corrosion occur through electrochemical reactions before determining solutions.

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286 views4 pages

Corrosion Basics

Corrosion is the natural deterioration of materials that results from chemical reactions with the environment. Like natural disasters, corrosion can cause dangerous and expensive damage, but it can be prevented or controlled using proven methods. Corrosion is a complex process affected by numerous environmental factors and the material being corroded. Effective prevention requires understanding these factors and how different forms of corrosion occur through electrochemical reactions before determining solutions.

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nagaravikrishnadivi
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© © All Rights Reserved
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Corrosion Basics

Corrosion - A Natural but Controllable Process

Corrosion is a naturally occurring phenomenon commonly defined as the


deterioration of a material (usually a metal) that results from a chemical
or electrochemical reaction with its environment.1 Like other natural
hazards such as earthquakes or severe weather disturbances, corrosion
can cause dangerous and expensive damage to everything from
vehicles, home appliances, and water and wastewater systems to
pipelines, bridges, and public buildings. Unlike weather-related disasters,
however, there are time-proven methods to prevent and control corrosion
that can reduce or eliminate its impact on public safety, the economy,
and the environment.

The science of corrosion prevention and control is highly complex,


exacerbated by the fact that corrosion takes many different forms and is
affected by numerous outside factors. Corrosion professionals must
understand the effects of environmental conditions such as soil
resistivity, humidity, and exposure to salt water on various types of
materials; the type of product to be processed, handled, or transported;
required lifetime of the structure or component; proximity to corrosion-
causing phenomena such as stray current from rail systems; appropriate
mitigation methods; and other considerations before determining the
specific corrosion problem and specifying an effective solution.

The first step in effective corrosion control, however, is to have a


thorough knowledge of the various forms of corrosion, the mechanisms
involved, how to detect them, and how and why they occur.2

Simply put, corrosion is the natural deterioration that results when a


surface reacts with its environment. Different surfaces, environments and
other factors add complexity to the equation.
References

1. Corrosion Basics, An Introduction, L.S. Van Delinder, ed. (Houston, TX: NACE, 1984).

2. NACE International Basic Corrosion Course Handbook (Houston, TX: NACE, 2000).

Factors

Prevention and control requires consideration of many factors before


determining specific problem and effective solution, including but not
limited to:

Environmental conditions such as soil resistivity, humidity and


exposure to salt water on various types of materials
type of product to be processed, handled or transported
required lifetime of structure or component
proximity to corrosion-causing phenomena such as stray current
from rail systems
appropriate mitigation methods

Ten Basic Forms

There are 10 primary forms of corrosion, but it is rare that a corroding


structure or component will suffer from only one. The combination of
metals used in a system and the wide range of environments
encountered often cause more than one type of attack. Even a single
alloy can suffer corrosion from more than one form depending on its
exposure to different environments at different points within a system.

All forms of corrosion, with the exception of some types of high-


temperature corrosion, occur through the action of the electrochemical
cell (Figure 1). The elements that are common to all corrosion cells are
an anode where oxidation and metal loss occur, a cathode where
reduction and protective effects occur, metallic and electrolytic paths
between the anode and cathode through which electronic and ionic
current flows, and a potential difference that drives the cell. The driving
potential may be the result of differences between the characteristics of
dissimilar metals, surface conditions, and the environment, including
chemical concentrations. There are specific mechanisms that cause
each type of attack, different ways of measuring and predicting them,
and various methods that can be used to control corrosion in each of its
forms.

Figure 1: Electrochemical Cell

In a corrosion cell, electrons flow through a metallic path

from sites where anodic reactions are occurring to sites

where they allow cathodic reactions to occur. Ions

(charged particles) flow through the electrolyte to balance

the flow of electrons. Anions (negatively charged ions

from cathodic reactions) flow toward the anode and

cations (positively charged ions from the anode itself) flow

toward the cathode. The anode corrodes and the cathode

does not. There is also a voltage, or potential, difference

between the anode and cathode. Source: NACE

International Basic Corrosion Course Handbook, p. 2:9.

General attack corrosion

Group 1 - readily identifiable by ordinary visual examination

Uniform corrosion
Pitting
Crevice corrosion
Filiform corrosion
Pack Rust
Galvanic corrosion
Lamellar corrosion

Group 2 - may require supplementary means of examination

Erosion corrosion
Cavitation
Fretting corrosion
Intergranular corrosion
Exfoliation
Dealloying (selective leaching)

Group 3 - verification is usually required by microscopy (optical, electron


microscopy etc.)

Environmental cracking
Stress Corrosion Cracking (SCC)
Corrosion Fatigue
Hydrogen Embrittlement

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