Understanding corrosion to enable next-generation metals

Researchers are using new, experimental techniques like Shear Assisted Processing and Extrusion (ShAPE) and friction stir welding to produce metal components that are lighter, stronger, and more precise than ever before. ...

Concrete made stronger and more durable with resin

Engineering structures made of concrete, steel, or other materials are subject to vibrations and stress. Because of this, small cracks appear, which grow and eventually lead to destruction. This phenomenon is called "fatigue ...

Anaerobic microbial iron corrosion due to conductive pili

Iron is well-known for rusting, but this doesn't just happen on contact with oxygen and water. Some bacteria are also able to decompose iron anaerobically in a process referred to as electrobiocorrosion.

New corrosion protection that repairs itself

Skyscrapers, bridges, ships, airplanes, cars—everything humans make or build sooner or later decays. The ravages of time are known as corrosion; nothing is safe from it.

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Corrosion

Corrosion is the disintegration of an engineered material into its constituent atoms due to chemical reactions with its surroundings. In the most common use of the word, this means electrochemical oxidation of metals in reaction with an oxidant such as oxygen. Formation of an oxide of iron due to oxidation of the iron atoms in solid solution is a well-known example of electrochemical corrosion, commonly known as rusting. This type of damage typically produces oxide(s) and/or salt(s) of the original metal. Corrosion can also occur in materials other than metals, such as ceramics or polymers, although in this context, the term degradation is more common.

In other words, corrosion is the wearing away of metals due to a chemical reaction.

Many structural alloys corrode merely from exposure to moisture in the air, but the process can be strongly affected by exposure to certain substances (see below). Corrosion can be concentrated locally to form a pit or crack, or it can extend across a wide area more or less uniformly corroding the surface. Because corrosion is a diffusion controlled process, it occurs on exposed surfaces. As a result, methods to reduce the activity of the exposed surface, such as passivation and chromate-conversion, can increase a material's corrosion resistance. However, some corrosion mechanisms are less visible and less predictable.

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