Corrosion Engineering & Protection Course

Lesson 1 • Thermodynamics of Corrosion

Examines Gibbs free energy, equilibrium potential, and Pourbaix diagrams. Connects thermodynamic feasibility to predicting whether corrosion will occur under given conditions.

Lesson 2 • Electrochemical Basis of Corrosion

Covers oxidation-reduction reactions, electrode potentials, and cell formation. Establishes the electrochemical framework underlying all corrosion mechanisms discussed in later chapters.

Lesson 3 • Corrosion Kinetics and Polarization

Introduces activation and concentration polarization, exchange current density, and mixed potential theory. Links kinetic parameters to measurable corrosion rates.

Lesson 4 • Passivity and Passive Film Behaviour

Explains passive film formation, breakdown, and repassivation on metals. Directly supports later sections on stainless steels, aluminium alloys, and protective coatings.

Lesson 1 • Localised Corrosion: Pitting and Crevice

Examines pit initiation, propagation, and crevice geometry effects on local chemistry. Localised forms cause disproportionate structural failures and require distinct detection methods.

Lesson 2 • Erosion-Corrosion and Cavitation

Analyses combined mechanical and electrochemical attack from fluid flow and bubble collapse. Relevant to piping, pumps, and heat exchanger tube failures.

Lesson 3 • Uniform and Galvanic Corrosion

Covers even metal loss across surfaces and bimetallic couple effects. Establishes baseline morphology recognition skills used throughout the course.

Lesson 4 • Environmentally Assisted Cracking

Covers stress corrosion cracking, hydrogen embrittlement, and corrosion fatigue. These failure modes combine mechanical stress with corrosive environments to cause sudden fracture.

Lesson 1 • Aqueous and Immersion Corrosion

Covers freshwater, seawater, and industrial process fluid corrosion. Connects dissolved species, temperature, and flow to material selection for submerged and process equipment.

Lesson 2 • Atmospheric Corrosion Mechanisms

Examines thin-film electrolyte formation, time of wetness, and pollutant effects on outdoor corrosion. Provides basis for coating selection and service life prediction in open environments.

Lesson 3 • Soil and Underground Corrosion

Examines soil resistivity, moisture, pH, and microbial activity effects on buried structures. Directly supports cathodic protection design for pipelines and underground tanks.

Lesson 4 • Concrete and Reinforcement Corrosion

Covers carbonation, chloride ingress, and rebar depassivation in reinforced concrete. Connects concrete chemistry to structural integrity and repair strategy selection.

Lesson 1 • Material Selection Methodology

Introduces structured selection frameworks, corrosion allowance calculation, and life-cycle cost analysis. Integrates technical and economic factors into defensible material decisions.

Lesson 2 • Stainless Steels and Their Limitations

Covers austenitic, ferritic, duplex, and martensitic grades and their corrosion performance. Provides the most widely used alloy family as a reference point for comparative selection.

Lesson 3 • Titanium, Aluminium, and Reactive Metals

Analyses passive oxide reliance, crevice susceptibility, and galvanic compatibility of lightweight reactive metals. Supports aerospace, marine, and chemical processing material decisions.

Lesson 4 • Polymers, Composites, and Linings

Covers chemical resistance of thermoplastics, thermosets, and fibre-reinforced composites as corrosion barriers. Extends material selection beyond metals to non-metallic alternatives.

Lesson 1 • Metallic and Conversion Coatings

Covers hot-dip galvanising, electroplating, thermal spray, and phosphate conversion coatings. Expands the protective coating toolkit beyond organic systems.

Lesson 2 • Coating Failure Analysis

Identifies blistering, undercutting, delamination, and chalking failure modes and their root causes. Failure analysis skills enable corrective specification and prevent recurrence.

Lesson 3 • Organic Coating Systems

Examines primer, intermediate, and topcoat functions, binder chemistry, and pigment selection. Provides the technical basis for specifying multi-coat systems for industrial structures.

Lesson 4 • Coating Inspection and Quality Assurance

Covers inspection hold points, instrument calibration, and documentation requirements for coating projects. Ensures applied coatings meet specification before service exposure.

Lesson 1 • Cathodic Protection Monitoring and Testing

Covers pipe-to-soil potential surveys, close-interval surveys, and IR drop correction. Systematic monitoring verifies protection and identifies deficiencies before failures occur.

Lesson 2 • Impressed Current Cathodic Protection

Examines rectifier design, inert anode materials, and current distribution for pipelines and tanks. Impressed current systems protect large structures where sacrificial anodes are impractical.

Lesson 3 • Sacrificial Anode Systems

Covers zinc, aluminium, and magnesium anode alloys, driving voltage, and design calculations. Sacrificial systems are self-contained and widely used for marine and underground applications.

Lesson 4 • Principles of Cathodic Protection

Establishes the electrochemical basis for shifting corrosion potential to immunity or passivity. Connects mixed potential theory from Chapter 1 to practical protection criteria.

Lesson 1 • Inhibitors for Cooling Water Systems

Examines phosphate, molybdate, azole, and polymer inhibitor programmes for recirculating cooling water. Cooling water systems represent the most common industrial inhibitor application.

Lesson 2 • Inhibitors for Oil and Gas Systems

Covers film-forming amines, imidazolines, and batch versus continuous injection for pipeline and downhole corrosion. Addresses the dominant inhibitor application in the energy sector.

Lesson 3 • Inhibitor Classification and Mechanisms

Covers anodic, cathodic, and mixed inhibitors and their adsorption or film-forming mechanisms. Classification determines application suitability and performance prediction approach.

Lesson 4 • Vapour Phase and Temporary Inhibitors

Examines volatile corrosion inhibitors for enclosed spaces and temporary preservation of stored equipment. Extends inhibitor application to non-aqueous and storage environments.

Lesson 1 • Corrosion Monitoring Techniques

Covers electrical resistance probes, linear polarisation resistance, and ultrasonic thickness monitoring. Monitoring provides real-time data to detect corrosion before structural limits are reached.

Lesson 2 • Risk-Based Inspection Methodology

Introduces probability of failure, consequence of failure, and risk ranking for inspection prioritisation. Risk-based inspection optimises resource allocation across large asset populations.

Lesson 3 • Integrity Management and Remaining Life

Covers fitness-for-service assessment, remaining life calculation, and corrosion management plan development. Integrates all monitoring and inspection data into actionable asset management decisions.

Lesson 4 • Corrosion Rate Measurement and Data Analysis

Covers weight loss calculation, mils per year conversion, and statistical trend analysis of monitoring data. Accurate rate measurement underpins remaining life calculations and maintenance planning.