The following are some examples for corrosion that we experience in our day to day life.
(i) Rusting of iron : Iron exposed to the environment forms a brown rust film on its surface.
(ii) Water stored in aluminium vessel : If water is stored for a long time in an aluminium vessel, white spots will be formed at several places.
(iii) Tarnishing of silver : Silver ornaments are found to form a black, adherent film on their surface.
(iv) Copper vessel : It is found to become dark brown or black in colour.
Need to study corrosion
The average loss of materials due to corrosion in India is INR 300 crores/year. For steel, it has been estimated that 25% of production is lost through corrosion. Hence, an engineer must:
- be aware of the corrosion problem,
- understand the mechanism of corrosion and
- apply his/her knowledge to control corrosion.
What is corrosion?
The process of destruction and consequent loss of a solid metallic material through a chemical or electrochemical attack by its environment is called corrosion.
For example : When iron is exposed to atmosphere containing oxygen and water vapour, it is converted into its metallic oxides Fe2O3H2O (Rust).
| Read More Topics |
| Electrochemistry – Solved Problems |
| Nernst Equation |
| Definition and origin of electrode potential |
