Protecting the World: Introducing Corrosion Science and Engineering

In Week 1 we show you the scientific and engineering concepts that are important to an understanding of corrosion in practise. Section 1 provides a brief outline of what corrosion is, how much it costs and how corrosion engineers can help. Section 2 lists, with examples, the eight types of corrosion and shows the important of good engineering design on corrosion control. Section 3 focuses on materials properties and introduces how the corrosion of metals (zinc) may be understood. Section 4 looks directly at the economic and social consequences of corrosion. In section 5 we pick up the pace to focus on the science of electrochemical corrosion. Finally, in section 6, we wind up with a selection of corrosion failures chosen from the Corrosion@Manchester museum.

This week, will discuss how cathodic protection works and how it can be applied in practice to protect metallic structures.Firstly, we’ll discuss some of the basic principles behind cathodic protection, and we will see how some of the concepts you have learned in the other units are applied in a cathodic protection scenario.Subsequently, we’ll discuss some aspects related to the design of cathodic protection systems, such as for example the criteria that have to be satisfied to achieve a good level of corrosion protection, or the method used to assess the requirements for an existing structure in terms of cathodic protection current.Finally, we’ll touch on cathodic protection of reinforced concrete structures, discussing the factors that contribute to good concrete quality and discussing how we can protect the reinforcement steel bars by using cathodic protection.This week’s material is split into 6 sessions. Each session lasts approximately 20 minutes; at the end of each session, there will be a quiz to test your knowledge.

In Week 3, we will introduce Surface Engineering. The learning materials for this week are organised into five sections. Throughout the week, we will clarify what surface engineering is and why surfaces are important. We will look into how coatings protect surfaces from corrosion and will discuss coating design criteria. We will also consider various Surface Engineering techniques. Finally, we will turn our attention to industrial applications of coatings for corrosion protection, coating performance and failure mechanisms.