Steel structures such as bulkheads, piles, offshore drilling platforms, etc., may be protected with either sacrificial galvanic anode or impressed current cathodic protection systems.
Several elements of preplanning are necessary to effectively execute the condition survey. The first is a logical breakdown of the facility, and the second is to have a grading system to evaluate the observed conditions.
Corrosion failures are often subtle and a result of invisible localized effects in the form of pits, intergranular corrosion, or attack within crevices.
Any corrosion management implementation process should comprise three phases: pre-implementation, implementation, and post-implementation. Any shortcomings will adversely affect the outcome, effectiveness, and quality of the process. This article discusses corrosion management implementation issues and shortcomings that were observed during various campaigns or audits from around the world.
In every industrial environment, the safety factor is an important consideration. In some environments, including the application of protective coatings, it is of overriding importance. This article explores many of the safety factors that need to be considered.
It is important to maintain inhibitor concentrations at a safe level in waters containing dissolved salts, particularly if these include chlorides.
Although the primary focus of a corrosion engineer is on the chemical stability and corrosion resistance of these materials, it is critical to cooperate with other design team members familiar with the mechanical, physical, and other properties to ensure that the desired materials performance can be achieved.
Experience has shown that even when impossible circumstances appear to be present, substantial cost savings are possible by intelligent use of corrosion data and good design practices.
There are certain fundamental considerations that should be understood in relation to open recirculated systems, starting with the concept of cycles of concentration. If three cups of boiling water in a tea kettle were allowed to boil away to one cup, the residual cup would contain a three-fold concentration of soluble water salts, assuming that only steam was driven off.
The greatest use of high-temperature water and steam is in electrical power generation. Historically, fossil fuels were used almost exclusively to heat water and make steam until the introduction of nuclear power steam generators in the second part of the 20th century.
Corrosion Basics don’t get any more basic than the definition of corrosion as the deterioration of a material, usually a metal, that results from a chemical or electrochemical reaction with its environment. Almost all materials should be expected to deteriorate, to some extent, with time when exposed to the elements. Corrosion is a perfectly natural process, as natural as water flowing downhill.
Although the corrosion rate of bare steel tends to decrease with time in most cases, the difference in corrosivity of different atmospheres for a particular alloy is tremendous.
Steel is fairly uniform in texture, and workers are familiar with the proper ways to prepare and coat it. In contrast, concrete is quite porous and uneven in texture, with differences in density from one square inch to the next.
Corrosion of the reinforcing steel in concrete is a worldwide problem that causes a range of economic, aesthetic, and utilization issues. However, if corrosion effects are considered in the design phase and the right decisions are made prior to construction, buildings can be constructed to resist corrosion.
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