Corrosion and its effects

The effects of corrosion in our daily lives are both direct, in that corrosion affects the useful service lives of our possessions, and indirect, in that producers and suppliers of goods and services incur corrosion costs, which they pass on to consumers. At home, corrosion is readily recognized on automobile body panels, charcoal grills, outdoor furniture, and metal tools. 

Preventative maintenance such as painting protects such items from corrosion. A principal reason to replace automobile radiator coolant every 12 to 18 months is to replenish the corrosion inhibitor that controls corrosion of the cooling system.

Corrosion protection is built into all major household appliances such as water heaters, furnaces, ranges, washers, and dryers

The corrosion of steel reinforcing bar (rebar) in concrete can proceed out of sight and suddenly (or seemingly so) result in failure of a section of highway, the collapse of electrical towers, and damage to buildings, parking structures, and bridges, etc., resulting in significant repair costs and endangering public safety

Effect of Corrosion & Losses

§ Overdesign to allow for corrosion

§ Preventive maintenance, for example, painting  Shutdown of equipment due to corrosion failure

§ Contamination of a product

§ Loss of efficiency—such as when overdesign and corrosion products decrease the heat-transfer rate in heat exchangers

§ Loss of valuable product, for example, from a container that has corroded through

§ Inability to use otherwise desirable materials

§ Damage of equipment adjacent to that in which corrosion failure occurs