Hostile environments cause structures and machines to corrode. “At $1.8 trillion, the annual cost of corrosion worldwide is over 3% of the world’s GDP,” says George Hays, the Director of the World Corrosion Organization. “Yet governments and industries pay little attention to corrosion except high-risk areas like aircraft and pipelines.”
Few environments are as corrosive as the marine environment. Salt water, stormy weather, extremes of temperature and pressure all contribute to a corrosive macro-environment. Additional factors, such as the temperatures found in the exhausts from marine gas turbines and chemicals carried on board, create micro-environments conducive to particular kinds of corrosion.
Reducing the stealth costs caused by corrosion
With a knowledge of how the marine environment corrodes different materials under diverse conditions, many of the pitfalls and hidden maintenance costs associated with corrosion can be avoided. Careful attention to the design of ships, the selection and preparation of materials, and their construction and final assembly can all contribute to reducing the impact of corrosion.
BMT Defence Services has collaborated with Amtec Consultants to produce a White Paper on how to minimise the impact of corrosion on naval vessels, reducing down-time and costs incurred through marine corrosion. The paper is aimed at all involved in the sector responsible for constructing, operating and maintaining marine and naval vessels who wish to know more about the causes and effects of marine corrosion. It also provides an overview of the techniques that may be used to mitigate these effects.