EROSION CORROSION

Prepared by :- Guided by :-
Abhishek Singh Dr. Sunil D Kahar
Roll No. 116001 Assistant Professor
M.E. (Met & Mats) Metallurgical & Material
Welding Technology Engineering Dept.
Flow of Presentation
Introduction
Mechanism
Factors influencing
Prevention
Case Study
References
Introduction
Why Study Corrosion?

Cost of Corrosion in India is about 2 lakh Crore every

year.
It accounts for about 4% GDP loss. (incurred due to
corrosion)
Globally, corrosion results in loss of 25000 tonne of
steel every minute.
Erosion Corrosion
Erosion corrosion is acceleration in rate of deterioration of
metal because of relative movement between corrosive fluid
and metal surface.
Movement is rapid and mechanical wear and abrasion are
involved.
Metal is removed from surface in form of dissolved ions, or it
form solid corrosion products that are mechanically swept
from metal surface.
Characterized by grooves, gullies, waves, rounded holes
and valleys and usually exhibits a directional pattern.
Failures are unexpected largely because evaluation corrosion
test were run under static conditions or erosion effects are not
considered.
For metals and alloys which tend to form passive film, erosion
corrosion results when these protective surface are damaged or
worn and metal and alloy are attacked at rapid rate.
Metals that are soft are readily damaged or worn
mechanically, such as copper and lead are quite susceptible to
erosion corrosion.
Corrosive mediums which could cause erosion corrosion
include gases, aqueous solutions, organic systems, and liquid
metals.
Examples:-
-> Hot gases may oxidize a metal and then at high velocity may
blow off an otherwise protective scale.
-> Solid in suspension in liquid (slurries) are particularly
destructive from the standpoint of erosion corrosion.
All types of equipments exposed to moving fluid are
subjected to erosion corrosion.
Some of these are :-
Piping systems, particularly bends, elbows and tees.
Valves, pumps, blowers, centrifugals.
Propellers, impellers, agitators, agitated vessels.
Heat exchanger tubing such as heaters and condensers.
Measuring devices such as an orifice, turbine blade,
nozzles, ducts and vapor lines.
Scrapers, cutters, wear plates, grinders, mills, baffles and
equipment subject to spray.
Examples :-
Mechanism
Removal of the metal may be:-
As corrosion product which "spalls off" the surface
because of the high fluid shear and bares the metal
beneath.
As metal ions, which are swept away by the fluid flow
before they can deposit as corrosion product.
Metals that rely on protective surface film for corrosion
protection are particularly vulnerable, e.g.: Al, Pb, SS.
Attack occurs when film cannot form because of erosion
caused by suspended particles (for example)
Or when rate of film formation is less than rate of
dissolution and transfer to bulk fluid.
Localised depression created causes more turbulence of
flowing fluid, which increases the rate of erosion.
Factors influencing :-
Surface Films.
Velocity.
Turbulence.
Galvanic Effect.
Nature of Metal or Alloy.
Impingement.
Surface films
Hard, dense, adherent, continuous films give good
resistance, provided that they are not brittle and easily
removed under stress.

Lead sulphate film protects lead

against dilute H2S04 under
stagnant conditions, but not
under rapidly moving conditions.
pH Effect
 Below a pH of 5 the scales cracked,
probably because of internal stresses,
and fresh metal was exposed.

 In regions of low attack the corrosion

products were Fe(OH)2 and Fe(OH)3,
which are more protective because they
hinder transfer of oxygen and ions.
Velocity of Flow :-
Increase in velocity generally results in
increased attack, particularly if
substantial rates of flow are involved.

The effect may be nil or increases slowly

until a critical velocity is reached, and
then the attack may increase at a rapid
rate.

For mechanical removal of oxide films

(spalling), the fluid shear stress at
the surface is important.
Schematic showing the effect of flow
velocity on erosion-corrosion rate.
Turbulence
Turbulence results in more intimate contact between the
environment and the metal.
The most frequently occurring example of this type of failure
occurs in the inlet ends of tubing in condensers and similar
shell-and-tube heat exchangers.
The type of flow obtained depends on the rate and quantity
of fluid handled and also on the geometry or design of the
equipment.
In addition to high velocities, ledges, crevices, deposits, sharp
changes in cross section, and other obstructions that disturb
the laminar flow pattern may result in erosion corrosion.
Impellers and propellers are typical components operating
under turbulent conditions.
 Galvanic effect
Fig.6 Shows that attack of SS316 by itself
was nil in high velocity sulfuric acid.

But increased to high value when this alloy

was in contact with lead.

The passive film was destroyed by the

combined forces of galvanic corrosion and
erosion corrosion.

Couples of lead and type 316 showed no

corrosion under static conditions.
Nature of metal or alloy
An active metal, or an alloy composed of active elements, its
corrosion resistance is due chiefly to its ability to form and
maintain a protective film.
If it is a more noble metal, it possess good inherent corrosion
resistance.
Addition of a third element to an alloy often increases
its resistance to erosion corrosion.
The addition of molybdenum to 18-8 to make type 316
makes it more resistance to corrosion and erosion
corrosion.
The addition of the third element produces a more stable
type protective film.
Soft metals are more susceptible to erosion corrosion.
Impingement
Impingement causes the liquid is in turbulent flow,
containing bubbles of air and suspended particles hit the
metallic surface strongly and destroy its protective film.

Increase in the rate of diffusion of aggressive ions due to

the speed of the fluid.
Prevention
Design

Materials
with better Alteration of
resistance to the
erosion environment
corrosion
Remedies

Cathodic
Coatings
protection
A proper geometric design of the system in order to get
a laminar flow with minimum turbulence.
The addition of a third element to the alloy often
increases the resistance to erosion–corrosion through the
formation of a strong passive or protective film.
For example, an addition of 2% Al to brass to form a
brass–aluminum alloy and an addition of 1.2% Fe to
cupronickels:
In the two cases, the addition of an element to the alloy
produces a marked increase of the resistance to
impingement.
The toughness is a good criterion for the resistance to the
mechanical erosion or abrasion, but this is not necessarily a
good criterion to predict the resistance to the erosion–
corrosion.
Example: Stellite (Co–Cr–W–Fe–C alloy), which has better
toughness than 18-8 stainless steel, showed better resistance to
cavitation erosion on a water brake.
Applying hard, tough protective coatings with resilient
materials such as rubber and some plastics is recommended.
Cathodic protection is efficient in order to reduce the
electrochemical attack.
Modification of the environment. Deoxygenation and the
addition of inhibitors are useful methods to decrease the
aggressiveness of a flowing liquid environment.
 CASE STUDY

Metal erosion in a U - bend tube section of Heat

Exchanger

SERVICE Heat exchanger with water

as working fluid.

PROBLEM Metal loss in a section of U

bend caused by extremely
high-temperature water
flashing over to steam.
Metal Erosion in a U-bend tube section.
CAUSE Fluid velocity in excess of the
manufacturer recommendation
cause erosion damage as metal
wears from the tubing surfaces.

If any corrosion is already present

on the exchanger, the erosion is
accelerated, exposing the
underlying metal to further attack
without a protective coating.

OBSERVATION When a single stream divides into

smaller streams, turbulence results
with a very high localized velocity.

It is this high velocity and

turbulence that produces a
“horseshoe” erosion pattern at the
tube.
REMEDY The maximum recommended tube
and entrance velocity should not
be exceeded.

Additional care should be taken if

the fluid contains suspended
particles.

This type of wet gas impingement

is controlled by designing an
oversized nozzle inlet nozzles, or
baffling the inlet nozzle.
 References
1. Shreir, L.L., Jarman, R.A., Burnstein, G.T., (eds.), ‘‘Corrosion’’, Vol. 1, Butterworth Heinemann, Principles of
Corrosion and Oxydation, pp. 1:1–303; Environments, pp. 2:120–142, Effect of Mechanical Factors on Corrosion,
pp. 8: 1–244, 1994.
 
2. Fontana, M.G., Staehle, R.W., Advances in Corrosion Science and Technology, Plenum Press, NY, preface to
volume 1, p. 2, 1990.
 
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USA, pp. 16–27; 1–81, 2001.

4. Shreir, L.L., Corrosion, Metal/Environment Reactions, Vol. 1, L.L. Shreir (ed.), Newnes-
Butterworths, London, 2nd edn, pp. 1:169–174; 8:1–129, 1976.

5. Fontana, M.G., Greene, N.D., The Eight Forms of Corrosion, Corrosion Engineering,
McGraw-Hill, New York, pp. 1–115; Fig. 3-24, 1978.
 
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9. Hutchings, I.M., Tribology: Friction and Wear of Engineering Materials, CRC Press, Boca
Raton, Florida, pp. 171–197, 1992.
 
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11. G. Bianchi, G Fiori., P. Longhi and F. Mazza, Corrosion, 34, 396 (1978)
 
12. A. Cohen, Material Perforation, 32, 56 (1993)
 
13. E.D. During, Comp., Corrosion Atlas : A collection of illustrated case histories, Vol. 1 : Carbon
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14. ASTM B 828, “Standard Practice for Making Capillary Joints by Soldering of copper and copper
alloy tube and fittings”, Vol. 02.01: Copper and Copper Alloys, ASTM, West Conshohocken, PA,
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 15. F.J. Heymann, “Liquid Impingement Erosion” in ASM Metals Handbook, Vol. 18, Friction,
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Thank You!!