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Mechanical Engineering vocabulary · Maintenance and Reliability

Corrosion

Meaning in mechanical engineering, with examples

/kəˈroʊʒən/nounCommon term

In mechanical engineering, corrosion means: Slow damage to a metal caused by a chemical reaction with its environment, such as water, air or chemicals. Rust on steel is the most familiar example.

In Turkish: korozyon, paslanma

How it is used

Used in design, maintenance and inspection. Engineers prevent corrosion with coatings, galvanizing, stainless steel or cathodic protection. Galvanic corrosion happens when two different metals touch in a wet environment. Corrosion resistance is a key material property.

Example sentences

  1. Corrosion has reduced the wall thickness of the pipe from 6 mm to 3.5 mm.

  2. Insulating washers were added between the steel bolts and the aluminum plate to prevent galvanic corrosion.

Common collocations

  • corrosion resistance
  • galvanic corrosion
  • prevent corrosion
  • corrosion protection
  • signs of corrosion
  • alloyA metal made by mixing a base metal with other elements to improve properties such as strength, hardness or corrosion resistance. Steel and brass are alloys.
  • wearThe gradual loss of material from a surface caused by friction, rubbing or hard particles during use, for example on bearings, gears, seals and cutting tools.
  • inspectionChecking a part, product or machine against a drawing, specification or standard by looking at it, measuring it or testing it.
  • failureThe state in which a part or machine can no longer do its job, for example because it has cracked, worn out, leaked or stopped working.

This word in other fields

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

More terms: Maintenance and Reliability

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