First of all, what is corrosion? 🤔
Well, corrosion is not a what, it is a how, and so that you know once and for all and easily, it is a "phenomenon" that occurs inevitably and naturally when 3 conditions are found, namely:
- a metal that acts as an anode (➖), and a metal or material that acts as a cathode (➕),
- a corrosive medium, normally an electrolyte 💦,
- and, an electrical contact ⚡.
Now, what means or how each of these is understood?, Because everything comes from a principle of natural action that arises from the so -called "galvanic cells"
As seen in the image, the anodo on the left is the material that is corrode, and the cathode on the right remains integral. The corrosive medium is water (salty) or electrolyte in which both elements are submerged, and additionally, a cable that connects both materials to flow the current that arises naturally between them.
And here, another discoveries, not observable at first glance that for many go unnoticed, and that all materials have a unique property that characterizes them called "potential".
Well, for now let's stay with this, because there are many more details in this classic experiment that give meaning to the phenomenon. 🔃
and finally, as a last discovery, it will now be easier for you to understand where this nickname comes from, calling metals like gold or silver, noble metals, because their potential makes them more cathodic compared to the rest of the metals and therefore, They don't rust.
I leave here the famous staircase of the Galvanica series where you can identify the level of the most common materials against others.
Now, clarified the concepts, I will present the 5 reasons why corrosion is more common than you imagined: ✌️
Possibly the most obvious reason is that in our civilization, iron and steel, they remain the most used metals for their versatility, mechanical properties and relative production costs, however, these materials are prone to corrosion when they are in contact with moisture, oxygen and other common reactive agents in the environment, with which the interaction is inevitable. I add a curious fact, did you know that the concrete is also corrode?
Corrosion degradation, usually occurs in a discreet and apparently slow way, is not noticeable at first sight, so the lack of awareness in its prevention, and even ignorance of the fact that it is an inexorable natural phenomenon , make many people and companies underestimal, ignoring the economic impact that can become. As an interesting fact, according to global estimates, corrosion represents more than 3% of world GDP in direct and indirect costs.
Corrosion mitigation is a technical and scientific discipline in itself, it is a specialized field of the material engineering area and a complement to maintenance engineering, which tries to prevent it with investment in innovative technologies and special materials more resistant to degradation under certain working conditions. In addition, it ensures, in the case of industry, a greater time of life of the infrastructure, improving it up to 30%, with only an additional investment that does not exceed 5% of the total cost of the industrial project.
In another order of ideas, the phenomenon of corrosion is used by manufacturers as a "programmed obsolescence instrument", with unconfessable commercial purposes to frequently rotate their products, and in which they deliberately use materials subceptible to corrosion in corrosion in corrosion Its design to limit your ideal useful life. Thus, consumers are forced to accept the myth of quality by having to replace with failures, for example, their appliances, vehicle spare parts and even furniture due to the deterioration that these suffer when oxidizing or cracking spontaneously.
Finally, I will speak a little of the paintings as one of the complementary methods to mitigate corrosion in the materials, that is, the paintings not only play an aesthetic, or terribly antiestetic paper in some cases 🤭, but rather they have the clear objective of protecting the metal surface as a protective barrier against aggressive elements in the environment, mainly oxygen and humidity, or even the presence of some acids.
In conclusion, corrosion is a natural process that is present for life and that can damage metals, However, each material has its own way of deteriorating or corroding, depending on its composition and the environment in which it is located, therefore, this phenomenon not only represents a technical challenge, but is also closely related to all aspects of everyday life, economically, scientifically, industrially, commercial, environmental and even political.