The Global Cost of Corrosion
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The Global Cost of Corrosion
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Re: The Global Cost of Corrosion
#2Rust's a Must, by T.R.B. Watson:
""" Mighty ships upon the ocean
Suffer from severe corrosion
Even those that stay at dockside
Are rapidly becoming oxide.
Alas, that piling in the sea
Is mostly FE2O3
And when the ocean meets the shore,
You'll find there's FE3O4.
'Cause when the wind is salt and gusty
Things are getting awful rusty
We can measure it, we can test it
We can halt it or arrest it
We can gather it and weigh it
We can coat it, we can spray it
We can examine and dissect it
We can cathodically protect it
We can pick it up and drop it
But heaven knows, we'll never stop it.
So here's to rust: No doubt about it,
Most of us would starve without it. """
Re: The Global Cost of Corrosion
#3Why aren't bridges and ships made out of stainless steel? Is it too expensive, or not as strong as regular steel?
Re: The Global Cost of Corrosion
#4The environmentalists killed a zinc mine in my state due to pollution concerns.
Of course every pound of zinc not mined meant more steel without zinc protection, and hence more rust and more mining of iron ore. Arguments like this were completely lost on them.
Re: The Global Cost of Corrosion
#5Why aren't bridges and ships made out of stainless steel? Is it too expensive, or not as strong as regular steel?
Probably just insanely expensive. Just the welding process for stainless alone would add so much.
Re: The Global Cost of Corrosion
#6This is why I get scared when I see articles about people developing plastic eating bacteria. Sure it is great for reducing waste but it’s a dangerous game to be playing for sure.
Re: The Global Cost of Corrosion
#7Why aren't bridges and ships made out of stainless steel? Is it too expensive, or not as strong as regular steel?
There is a steel called Corten where the rust develops a protective layer similar to aluminum and won't rust all the way through. The only issue is it isn't good when exposed to constant water as the rust will wash off and not protect.
Re: The Global Cost of Corrosion
#8This is an important issue. People keep talking about recycling, but much more important than recycling is just being able to use a thing for longer before you are even thinking about recycling it.
Japanese automakers did the world a great favor when in the 80s and 90s they made much longer lasting cars and made longevity and resale value an important consideration in the purchasing decision. They did this mostly by using better paints and making sure cars and car parts are painted more thoroughly.
There are modern materials that prevent corrosion. Here is a company that sells ordinary looking paper that you can use to wrap anything and it will prevent it from rusting.
Re: The Global Cost of Corrosion
#9Why aren't bridges and ships made out of stainless steel? Is it too expensive, or not as strong as regular steel?
According to http://www.kastenmarine.com/metalboats.htm, mostly cost plus other drawbacks that sound like they would not be blockers if the cost were lower. That author thinks monel would be even better than stainless, but it's even more expensive.
Re: The Global Cost of Corrosion
#10Why aren't bridges and ships made out of stainless steel? Is it too expensive, or not as strong as regular steel?
Cost, primarily. I'm not certain but I believe joins and welds also need further attention to ensure the corrosion protection isn't impaired.
Anyway, O&M is the problem for the guy trying to get the next decade's budget approved so if the upkeep is more expensive, hey at least I got this thing built.