Corrosion Engineering and Its Impact on Asset Life Cycle
Corrosion is a natural process that can’t be that causes materials to deteriorate over time. Metal structures have a heightened risk of corrosion, a great concern for industries including transportation, oil and gas, construction, and many others. When we talk about dealing with corrosion, our objective is to ensure that the service life of our industrial equipment is enhanced for an extended period. This is where corrosion engineering comes in.
What is Corrosion Engineering?
Corrosion engineering is a form of engineering that studies and seeks to address aspects that promote corrosion and find means for safeguarding them. It encompasses fundamental knowledge along with the principles of material science, chemistry, and mechanical engineering to deal with the form and properties of the material under such conditions. The job of corrosion engineers involves exploring the impact of environmental factors such as humidity, temperature, and chemicals on the properties of an object and implementing strategies to protect the material from corrosion.
The Economic Consequences of Corrosion
Corrosion is much more than simply a metallic deterioration. Its annual cost can be considerably larger than anticipated owing to its multifold consequences. Due to infrastructure deterioration, increased maintenance expenditure, and the time needed for production recovery, billions of dollars are drained away every year. Industrial infrastructures such as bridges, pipelines, and industrial plants are all prone to corrosion and require careful attention for management. To enhance efficiency and reduce the loss of revenue due to corrosion, the best option is to implement advanced corrosion engineering design solutions.
Corrosion Mitigation Strategies
Corrosion engineers use many different strategies to prevent the degradation of the assets.
- Protective Coatings: The application of paints, epoxies, and other protective coverings provides a barrier to the material and its surrounding environment; hence preventing the material from corrosion. These protective coatings are designed as per the environment that the particular material will be exposed to.
- Cathodic Protection: Another preventive methodology is to redirect corrosive electrical currents away from the metal that needs to be protected. It involves converting metal surfaces into cathodes.
- Material Selection: It is appropriate to use stainless steel or alloys that have low corrosiveness and are capable of withstanding harsh environmental conditions that lead to corrosion.
- Environmental management: The probability of corrosion can also be reduced by minimizing exposure to corrosive elements and managing environmental factors such as temperature, moisture, etc.
- Supervision and servicing: Regular and scheduled inspection and corrective actions can help reduce the risk of corrosion before it becomes severe.
Future Trends in Corrosion Engineering
Over the recent years, the practices of corrosion engineering have witnessed serious developments due to the rapid advancement in technology. For instance, today we have cutting-edge coatings that can sense and even self-repair minor corrosion-related damages. Also, the emergence of real-time monitoring systems has made it possible to detect corrosion instantaneously. These developments are great strides toward more efficiency and precision for the management of corrosion in a not-too-distant future.
Corrosion engineering is relevant in every industry as it ultimately contributes towards ensuring that all forms of equipment withstand the test of time. The risk of corrosion can be mitigated by understanding the reasons behind the failure and finding ways to mitigate it. If you wish to know how to protect your industrial assets from corrosion, feel free to contact us at Coating Management Solutions.