Corrosion under

A method has been worked out for eddy current testing of surfaces and surface cracks or corrosion under dielectric or non-magnetic metal layer of up to 10 mm. The method is based on excitation of eddy currents by a coil with U - type core and information reading by a sensitive gradientometric element located on a axis of symmetry of the core (fig. 1). 

Corrosion under insulation is also a concern, particularly in refrigeration systems. The specification of the insulation system needs to include painting, vapor barriers, and external metal jackets (16). 

Evaluation of attack if other than general, such as crevice corrosion under suppoi t rod, pit depth and distribution, and results of microscopic examination or bend tests... 

Use of inhibitors. Because corrosion is such a vital aspect of the erosion-corrosion process, inhibitors that will reduce corrosion under conditions of high fluid velocity have been a cost-effective method of dealing with erosion-corrosion. For example, injection of ferrous sulfate either intermittently or continuously has been successful in inhibiting erosion-corrosion, especially with copper-base alloys. 

Deposit Attack—to localized corrosion under, and resulting from, a deposit on a metal surface. 

Corrosive fluids or contaminants must be identified to the manufacturer. The principle gas stream may or may not be corrosive under some set of circumstances, yet the contaminants might require considerable attention in cylinder design. For example, considerable difference exists between handling bone-dry pure chlorine gas and the same material with 5 ppm moisture. The corrosiveness of the gas must be considered when selecting lubrication materials for the compression parts as well as seals, lubricants, etc. 

The carbon dioxide produced can contribute to the corrosion of metal. The deposits of ferric hydroxide that precipitate on the metal surface may produce oxygen concentration cells, causing corrosion under the deposits. Gallionalla and Crenothrix are two examples of iron-oxidizing bacteria. 

An ideal hydraulic liquid should be free from acids that cause corrosion of the metals in the system. Most liquids cannot be expected to remain completely non-corrosive under severe operating conditions. When new, the degree of acidity of a liquid may be satisfactory but after use, the liquid may tend to become corrosive as it begins to deteriorate. 

Impedance spectroscopy This technique is essentially the extension of polarization resistance measurements into low-conductivity environments, including those listed above. The technique can also be used to monitor atmospheric corrosion, corrosion under thin films of condensed liquid and the breakdown of protective paint coatings. Additionally, the method provides mechanistic data concerning the corrosion processes, which are taking place. 

Deaeration has occasionally been used as a means of controlling bimetallic corrosion under conditions of total immersion, and this method of control can be used successfully, if physical conditions permit, provided that the less noble metal is not sufficiently electrochemically active to permit rapid evolution of hydrogen at the more noble metal, as is observed, for instance, in many bimetallic couples involving magnesium anodes. 

Detailed review presented at symposium on Corrosion under Heat Transfer in Liquid Media , reported in Br. Corr. J., 2 (1967)... 

This has already been touched upon in several of the previous paragraphs. Russian workers have extensively examined the electrochemistry of corrosion under thin moisture films and the reader is referred to the work of Rosenfel d, Tomashov, Klark and co-workers for fuller details" " It has been found that the corrosion rate reaches a maximum when the moisture film is around 150/xm thick. 

Sulphate in general appears to behave very similarly Hatch and Rice have shown that small concentrations in distilled water increase corrosion more than similar concentrations of chloride". In practice, high-sulphate waters may attack concrete, and the performance of some inhibitors appears to be adversely affected by the presence of sulphate. Sulphates have also a special role in bacterial corrosion under anaerobic conditions. Both sulphates and nitrates are acceptable in low-pressure boiler feed water as they are believed to be of value in controlling caustic cracking. 

Soil resistivity The role of soil in the electrical circuitry of corrosion is now apparent. Thus the conductivity of the soil represents an important parameter. Soil resistivity has probably been more widely used than any other test procedure. Opinions of experts vary somewhat as to the actual values in terms of ohm centimetres which relate to metal-loss rates. The extended study of the US Bureau of Standards presents a mass of data with soil-resistivity values given. A weakness of the resistivity procedure is that it neither indicates variations in aeration and pH of the soil, nor microbial activity in terms of coating deterioration or corrosion under anaerobic conditions. Furthermore, as shown by Costanzo rainfall fluctuations markedly affect readings. Despite its short comings, however, this procedure represents a valuable survey method. Scott points out the value of multiple data and the statistical nature of the resistivity readings as related to corrosion rates (see also Chapter 10). 

Oxidation-reduction potential Because of the interest in bacterial corrosion under anaerobic conditions, the oxidation-reduction situation in the soil was suggested as an indication of expected corrosion rates. The work of Starkey and Wight , McVey , and others led to the development and testing of the so-called redox probe. The probe with platinum electrodes and copper sulphate reference cells has been described as difficult to clean. Hence, results are difficult to reproduce. At the present time this procedure does not seem adapted to use in field tests. Of more importance is the fact that the data obtained by the redox method simply indicate anaerobic situations in the soil. Such data would be effective in predicting anaerobic corrosion by sulphate-reducing bacteria, but would fail to give any information regarding other types of corrosion. 

Under certain conditions, it will be impossible for the metal and the melt to come to equilibrium and continuous corrosion will occur (case 2) this is often the case when metals are in contact with molten salts in practice. There are two main possibilities first, the redox potential of the melt may be prevented from falling, either because it is in contact with an external oxidising environment (such as an air atmosphere) or because the conditions cause the products of its reduction to be continually removed (e.g. distillation of metallic sodium and condensation on to a colder part of the system) second, the electrode potential of the metal may be prevented from rising (for instance, if the corrosion product of the metal is volatile). In addition, equilibrium may not be possible when there is a temperature gradient in the system or when alloys are involved, but these cases will be considered in detail later. Rates of corrosion under conditions where equilibrium cannot be reached are controlled by diffusion and interphase mass transfer of oxidising species and/or corrosion products geometry of the system will be a determining factor. 

At sufficiently high rates of flow in natural waters enough oxygen may reach the surface to cause partial passivity, in which case the corrosion rate may decrease. In sea-water, owing to the high concentration of chloride ions, the corrosion rate increases with velocity. In one series of tests, corrosion under static conditions was 0-125mm/y, 0-50mm/y at 5 ft/s and 0-83 mm/y at 15 ft/s. 

The excellent resistance of zinc to corrosion under natural conditions is largely responsible for the many and varied applications of the metal. In fact nearly half the world consumption of zinc is in the form of coatings for the prevention of corrosion of steel fabrications exposed to the atmosphere and to water. For its varied applications zinc is obtainable in a number of grades. Ordinary commercial (G.O.B.) zinc contains up to about I -5% total of lead, cadmium and iron. Electrolytic zinc has a minimum zinc content of 99-95% and contains small amounts of the same impurities. Special high-purity zinc has a minimum of 99-99% zinc. Even purer zincs are commercially available. 

When testing for corrosion under heat-transfer conditions, the heat flux must be realistic. It is not good enough to merely reproduce the correct temperatures... 

Soluble sulphates and chlorides in brickwork, plaster and other walling materials provide a more serious source of corrosion under damp condi-... 

Some metals are amphoteric. That is, they form simple cations (in acid solutions) and soluble oxyanions (in alkaline solution) only in the mid-pH range is a protective film stable. Since cathodic protection produces alkali at the structure s surface, it is important to restrict the polarisation, and thereby the amount of hydroxyl ion produced, in these cases. Thus both lead and aluminium will suffer cathodic corrosion under cathodic protection if the potential is made excessively electro negative. 

The action of platinum microelectrodes has been extensively studied Trials carried out by Peplow have shown that lead/ platinum bi-electrodes can be used in high velocity seawater at current densities up to 2 000 Am and that blister formation with corrosion under the blisters is decreased by the presence of platinum microelectrodes. The current density range in which the anode is normally operated is 200-750 Am with the maximum working current density quoted as 1 000 Am The consumption rate of theje anodes ranged from 0-0014 kg A y at 500Am , but increased to 0-003 kg... 

Filiform Corrosion a form of corrosion under paint coatings on metals characterised by a thread-like form advancing by means of a growing head or point. 

Legault, Mori and Leckie have used open-circuit potential vs. time measurements and cathodic reduction of rust patinas for the rapid laboratory evaluation of the performance of low-alloy weathering steels. The steel specimens are first exposed for 48 h to the vapour of an 0-(X)l mol dm sodium bisulphite solution maintained at 54°C (humid SOj-containing atmosphere) to stimulate corrosion under atmospheric conditions. They are then subjected to two types of test (tt) open-circuit potential-time tests for periods up to 3 000 s in either distilled water or 0 -1 mol dm Na2S04 and... 

The potentiostat is particularly useful in determining the behaviour of metals that show active-passive transition. Knowledge of the nature of passivity and the probable mechanisms involved has accumulated more rapidly since the introduction of the potentiostatic technique. Perhaps of more importance for the subject at hand are the practical implications of this method. We now have a tool which allows an operational definition of passivity and a means of determining the tendency of metals to become passive and resist corrosion under various conditions. 

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