Corrosion for Everybody
Written in a fresh and lucid style for a wide audience, this important topic is set out in detail, with new explanations relating, for instance, to the oxidation thermodynamics of mild steels in water. Many practical examples of corrosion phenomena are given.
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Hardcover, 368 pages
Published December 9th 2009 by Springer
About the Book
People seldom enjoy corrosion. They usually perceive it as a nasty phenomenon with which they must cope. Yet many people, far from the corrosion field, come across it because of their professional duty. Lawyers, historians, doctors, architects, philosophers, artists, and archeologists, to name a few, may want or need to understand the principles of corrosion.
This volume explains this important topic in a lucid, interesting, and popular form to everybody: to students and young engineers who are only beginning their studies, to scientists and engineers who have dealt with corrosion for many years, and to non-specialists involved in corrosion problems.
The book uses a fresh writing style, with some new explanations relating to thermodynamics of oxidation of iron and mild steels in water, reversible and irreversible potential, solubility of oxygen in water and aqueous solutions of electrolytes, corrosion of metals in fuels, corrosion of storage tanks for fuels and their corrosion control, corrosion monitoring in practice, humanitarian aspects of corrosion science and technology (history of the evolution of knowledge about corrosion, relationships between corrosion and philosophy, corrosion and art). Many practical examples of various corrosion phenomena are given.
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People Say...
By Dr. rer. Nat. Volodymyr Kuznetsov
DECHEMA-Forschungsinstitut
Korrosion
Theodor-Heuss-Allee 25
60486 Frankfurt am Main
Germany
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The book by Prof. Groysman "Corrosion for Everybody" represents an introduction text into the corrosion science for a general academic reader. It provides an interdisciplinary overview, where the boundaries between science, engineering, economic considerations, and humanitarian aspects of corrosion have been bridged. Though the metal corrosion is typically regarded as an evil or as an "illness", the author succeeds to convey the duality of the observed phenomena, because the
latter could be used for a purpose. In addition the guiding lines for the art of corrosion mitigation have been illustrated on the basis of practical aspects from industry perspective.
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To fill the gap in the literature between an introductory level and a reference book the textbook contains chapters on technical and humanitarian issues related to corrosion science and technology as well as supplies of key-reference materials including a vast variety of appendices. Its red thread is based on the iron corrosion. Therealong the typical mechanisms, factors and phenomena of corrosion are discussed. Most examples are related to the petroleum industry, because steel is the
main construction material there to date. Possessing this view after multiple years of experience in the industry Prof. Groysman gives insider-hints related to the practical considerations of corrosion and its mitigation in natural and industrial environments.
From the same practical perspective the corrosion control and monitoring measures are described, while the background theoretical knowledge is shifted rather to the appendix materials. For example, the complementary use of coatings, inhibitors and electrochemical methods for the protection of surfaces is discussed only after the detailed review of all modern approaches. The main reason for that is the notion, that corrosion mitigation is an art, where every counter-measure has its drawbacks and application niche. To find the right one both laboratory and in-field monitoring methods are reviewed.
Finally, the chapter on the humanitarian aspects of corrosion science broadens the perspective to a number of domains of everybody’s lives. Namely, the history, philosophy, and relation to the art has been gathered together. The author gives his own view based on historical documents and interdisciplinary know-how. While the history covers the evolution of the scientific thought from alchemy till modern philosophy, i.e. thermodynamic formalism, the relation to the artworks shows the "beauty" and the value of corrosion phenomena. Could the electrochemical primary cells ever be invented without corrosion processes? Can the artist be inspired from the natural consequences of entropy increase? The answers to even more challenging questions will be found by the attentive reader in the book. On this way the common clichés about corrosion will be wiped out.
What makes the book unique is that, besides technical explanations, there are always vivid examples and stories from everyday life are given in order to offer the associations. They are ubiquitous from the view of modern pedagogical science for the integration of the fresh learned categories and phenomena in the ethodological chains of human thinking. Whether the essence of galvanic corrosion or the principles of application and use of coatings - always a historical perspective and a practical advice are provided.
The book will be useful to scientists of any related discipline as well as to every educated guest. Because it allows quickly get the understanding about the risks of corrosion degradation and define the appropriate measures to monitor and mitigate the corrosion processes or at least speak the same language with the corrosion engineer, who does the job. At the same time with the knowledge provided therein everyone may obtain a completely new perspective on the artwork and how it
“writes” the history. Moreover, for the development of coatings, or inhibitors, or, for instance, monitoring techniques young scientists have the opportunity to dive into the related problematics with highest effectiveness.
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