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Chemical Engineering vocabulary · Materials and Corrosion

Corrosion

Meaning in chemical engineering, with examples

/kəˈroʊʒən/nounCore term

In chemical engineering, corrosion means: The slow damage of a metal by chemical or electrochemical reaction with its surroundings, such as rust on carbon steel or attack by acids and chlorides.

In Turkish: korozyon, paslanma

How it is used

Used in material selection, inspection and maintenance. Engineers measure corrosion rate in mm per year, add corrosion allowance and choose resistant materials. Types include general, pitting, crevice and stress corrosion cracking. The verb is 'corrode'.

Example sentences

  1. Inspection found severe corrosion under the insulation on the steam line.

  2. Chlorides in the cooling water are the main cause of corrosion in this exchanger.

Common collocations

  • corrosion rate
  • corrosion resistance
  • corrosion under insulation
  • corrosion inhibitor
  • prevent corrosion
  • pittingA form of local corrosion that creates small, deep holes in a metal surface while the area around them looks almost undamaged.
  • corrosion allowanceExtra wall thickness added to a vessel or pipe on top of what strength calculations require, so that it can lose metal to corrosion over its life and still be safe.
  • stainless steelA family of steels containing at least about 10.5% chromium, which forms a thin protective oxide layer and gives much better corrosion resistance than carbon steel.
  • material of constructionThe material that a piece of equipment, pipe or part is made from, chosen for strength, temperature, corrosion resistance and cost.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

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