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CORROSION PREVENTION IN RAILWAY COACHES AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL NOTE: Full name: Durgacharan Sivakumar Affiliation: IV year Chemical Engineering Student,

BITS (Birla institute of technology and science), Pilani, India E-mail address: durga1412@yahoo.com, durga1412@gmail.com Contact details: Permanent address 14A Pakshi house, Middle street, West gate, Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu 623 526, India Temporary address 225, Bhagirath Bhawan, BITS, Pilani, Rajasthan 333 031, India ABSTRACT This paper mainly deals with corrosion that occurs in under frame of Indian railway coaches, causes of corrosion, steps taken to prevent corrosion, suggestions to minimize this problem. The paper contains new suggestions to mitigate the problem; more emphasis has been laid on welding and anodizing which are being done perfunctorily, the various pros and cons of using aluminum instead of stainless steel for under frame has been explicated. Although corrosion cannot be mitigated with NDT (nondestructive testing) sampling can be done before installation. The importance of pitting resistance equivalent number is conveyed. Welding distortion that occurs when aluminum is used has been composed. Also residual stresses that occur as a consequence of welding have been adumbrated. The corrosion behavior of silica hybrid coatings produced from basic catalyzed sols by dipping and electrophoretic deposition (EPD) onto stainless steel AISI 304 has been explicated. Importance of surface preparation and surface modifications has been silhouetted. Key words: Detection & Monitoring, Coatings & Surface Treatments, pitting corrosion, NDT, austenitic stainless steel.

INTRODUCTION The annual loss for India, on account of corrosion is around Rupees 35 crores. Corrosion is the destruction of a material by chemical or electrochemical reaction with its environment. Under frame is the main part in a coach that is subjected to corrosion because of the presence of lavatory. Mechanical strength is reduced and the section ultimately fails if extensive corrosion occurs. Corrosion and its control is an important, but often neglected, element in the practice of engineering. Taking care right from the material selection to successful operation, adhering to the guidelines is the only possible way to minimize losses due to corrosion. Corrosion is a term related to material deterioration mechanism, which may induce flaws affecting the health of a component. If these flaws are not detected at the right time, they may lead to the failure if the component resulting in loss in productivity and threat to safety. To this effect, Non Destructive Evaluation (NDE) techniques viz. eddy current, ultrasonic, radiography, acoustic emission, thermography etc. have a significant role to play in the detection and monitoring of corrosion. Water percolation from toilet is one of the main causes for corrosive environment in under frame. Coaches are susceptible to marine atmospheric corrosion and industrial atmospheric corrosion. Marine Atmospheric Corrosion: Sea water and open seas has a high salt content of about 3.5%. The table salt (sodium chloride) makes sea water a good conductor of electricity, as the presence of an electrolyte is necessary for corrosion, it leads to corrosion. In the marine atmospheric corrosion, chloride ions play a major role in inducing corrosion. Approaching the sea coast, air is laden with increasing amounts of sea salt, in particular NaCl (sodium chloride). Sulfates exert a lesser influence, bicarbonates hinder corrosion.

Industrial Atmospheric Corrosion: At industrial area, appreciable amounts of SO2, this converts to sulfuric acid, and lesser amounts of H2S, NH3, NO2 and various suspended salts are encountered. This is the main reason for coaches getting easily corroded near industrial areas. Most corrosion can take place when oxygen is present and therefore level of dissolved oxygen is important, in the open sea there is about 4 8 parts per million, ample to allow steel to corrode. Gases like SO2, which originate from burning of coal, gas and gasoline, would also cause corrosion. Causes of Corrosion in Indian Railway Coaches: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Water seepage through the flooring to the top of trough floor. Leakage of water through lavatory flooring. Missing of corrode chute and drain pipe. Defective water pipe fittings. Absence of surface preparation during replacement of commode and drain pipes. Habits of flushing the flooring with the water jet for cleaning. The condition of air trapped in between trough floor and flooring due to climate changes. Striking of flying ballast when the train is running. Design of window seal leaves the gap between the side panel to allow the rain water flow through the panel and to drain out at the bottom. 10. Blockage of drain water by accumulated dust on top of trough floor.

Areas Subject To High Rate Of Corrosion In Passenger Coaches Are: 1. Trough floor: areas adjacent to lavatory, doorways, luggage compartment in SLR (sleeper) and kitchen area of pantry car. 2. side wall bottom: area below lavatory and between body side pillars 3. body pillars: bottom portion of pillar near doorways and lavatory area 4. Cross bearers: joint between sole bar and cross bearers. 5. Body side door: bottom of door due to accumulation of dust. 6. battery boxes: corrosion due to acid action 7. Roof: ventilator and area around it. Steps Taken To Overcome Corrosion: In order to overcome corrosion, the following steps are carried out: a) use of HSLA (IRS: M 41 97) i.e. CORTEN STEEL: b) surface preparation and painting c) use of corrosion resistant material like stainless steel d) phosphating and anodizing (oxidation of aluminum) Use Of HSLA (IRS: M 41 97) Steel: The high carbon steels are not widely used for structural work due to its lack of ductility and weld ability. For this purpose HSLA steels are used which has high or excellent ductility, yield strength and weld ability which is obtained by decreasing the carbon content and adding alloying elements. These steels have good atmospheric corrosion resistance. CORTEN steel is an acronym for corrosion resistant high tensile steel

Surface Preparation: The most important single factor influencing the life of paint is the proper preparation of the metal surface. Surface preparation consists of 2 main parts. Initial cleaning can be accomplished by using solvents or alkaline solutions. Rust and mill scale are removed by either pickling or blasting. Grit Blasting: The main surface preparation being carried out is grit blasting. Grit blasting is mainly carried out for adhesiveness of paint and for derusting. Grit blasting is of oriented grit type involving enormous pressure. By grit blasting the scale is removed by high velocity particles impelled by an air blast or by a high velocity wheel. Blast materials usually consist of sand or sometimes of steel grit, silicon carbide, alumina, refractory slag or rock wool by products.

Use Of Corrosion Resistant Material Like Stainless Steel: Role Of Chromium And Nickel: 1. The primary role of chromium is to provide a self-forming protective film for corrosion resistance. 2. Nickel stabilizes the austenitic structure. Austenitic stainless steels are basically non-magnetic in nature. These steels are not hardened able by common heat treatment practices. However these steels harden at a rapid rate by cold working. Austenitic grades exhibit excellent corrosion resistance. Under frame is the main part prone to corrosion in coaches because of the presence of lavatory. Stainless steel can resist corrosion in coastal, saline and other chloride bearing environment. Since nickel containing stainless steel does not need painting, the threat of noxious fumes is minimized. Stainless Steel Versus Corten Steel

Serial number 1. 2. 3.

Cost in rupees AC/EMU A,C or D Cost with the use of stainless 2,58,939 steel materials Cost with the use of corten steel 1,09,188 materials Increase in cost 1,49,751

Description

Cost in rupees AC/EMU motor coach 2,54,868 1,07,471 1,47,397

Thus the use of stainless steel is restricted due to financial implication. Anodizing: Anodizing is an electrochemical process that thickens and toughens the naturally occurring protective oxide, renders surface hardness, abrasion resistance is increased (during sealing), corrosion resistant.

Conventionally, direct current sulfuric acid process is used instead of chromic acid, but chromic acid has the following advantages: 1. It is a good base for subsequent painting. 2. If chromic acid becomes trapped in, for example, overlapping joints it is less likely than sulfuric acid to cause corrosion. Recommendations / Suggestions/Findings: Parts Painted Without Surface Preparation: As the under frames are not being grit blasted the surface is prone to corrosion by corrosive environment. Also the surface when painted does not get properly bonded and hence easily corroded. The other parts like L beam (sole bar), cross bearers etc are not being phosphated and so these parts get easily corroded due to lack of corrosion resistance.

Use Of Stainless Steel And Hsla And Mild Steel Which Are All Welded Together: When under going dissimilar welding, defects are caused because of change in metal composition. Under such conditions, corrosion in dissimilar parts can be minimized if the weld metal has better corrosion resistance, strength and mechanical properties compared to the parent metal. For e.g. when welding stainless steel to mild steel, the composition of weld metal should be closer to that of stainless steel composition. The usage of copper coated plain carbon steel wire as electrode under CO2 as shielding media is the usual practice that deviates from the composition of the parent metal. Under such circumstance the weld metal is more easily prone to corrosion compared to the parent metal.

Aluminum as an alternative: The main characteristics of aluminum which influence welding are hydrogen solubility, aluminum oxides, thermal conductivity, thermal expansion and solidification shrinkage, and non discoloration. One needs to understand that moisture or hydrocarbons on the surface might decompose beneath the arc, and create hydrogen. Hydrogen is extremely soluble in molten aluminum, so, when the weld freezes, the hydrogen can get trapped in weld itself. This is the main source of porosity in aluminum welds. Use Of Aluminum Coaches: Aluminum being lighter, its coaches will consume less fuel or electrical power as proven in developed countries like Korea and Japan, as aluminum production is a highly capital-intensive industry requiring not less than $1 billion investment, Initial high cost of the coaches, including their development could be off-set in the long-term with reduced operational and maintenance cost initial high cost of the coaches, including their development could be off-set in the long-term with reduced operational and maintenance costs The consumption of aluminum in each automobile in India is about 20-25kg against 150kg in countries like the US, Japan, Korea, and Europe. Welding Processes: Gas welding may give extensive effects; inert gas welding is less harmful; flash butt welding gives the best results. Aluminum magnesium filler materials are highly resistant to general corrosion when used with base alloys having similar magnesium content. Most of the advantages of GMAW (gas metal arc welding) over GTAW (gas tungsten arc welding) stem from the fact that in GMAW direct current electrode positive is used at a high current density. This is possible because the electrode is consumable and is melted during the welding, whereas in GTAW, the current is limited by the melting temperature of the electrode. Heat transfer by the gas metal arc is very efficient. Joining Dissimilar Metals: In general, friction stir welding (FSW) is claimed to produce stronger, lighter and more efficient welds than other joining processes. An obvious advantage of a solid state welding process is the absence of gravitation effects, thereby facilitating its use in all positions, namely, horizontal, vertical, overhead and orbital. The FSW joints are found to be not sensitive to intergranular corrosion, additionally high stress corrosion cracking (SCC) resistance is displayed by the friction stir welded joints, whereas the laser welds suffer severely from pitting and intergranular corrosion. Welding Distortion: Distortion in a welded structure results from the non-uniform expansion and contraction of the weld metal and adjacent base metal during the heating and cooling cycle of the welding process. During heating and cooling in the welding process, thermal strains occur in the weld metal and base metal near the welded zone. The stresses resulting from these strains produce internal forces, which in turn cause shrinkage, bending buckling and rotation. With slow

1) 2) 3) 4)

welding speed and with high number of weld passes for a given weld size, the greater will be the distortion. Whereas higher arc heat concentration and faster travel speed with higher deposition rate reducing the number of weld passes will reduce the distortion. The basic types of distortion that takes place during welding are: shrinkage angular deformation rotational distortion buckling distortion Residual Stress: Residual stresses are defined as those stresses that exist in a body if all the external loads are removed. One should be concerned with the prediction of residual stress in welded structures because the effect they have on the service behavior of these structures can be detrimental. In the case of welding, residual stresses can be classified as being macroscopic in scale and as being produced by uneven distributions of non-elastic strains. Finally, it should be noted that since residual stresses exist without any external loads they should always satisfy force and momentum equilibrium that is they should be self-equilibrating.

Corrosion detection and monitoring in austenitic stainless steels using Nondestructive testing and Evaluation techniques: Nondestructive testing (NDT) by definition refers to test methods used to examine or inspect a part, material or system without impairing its future usefulness. The correct application of NDT can prevent accidents; protect the environment and the economic loss. PREN: PREN= % Cr+ 3.3 x % Mo + 16 x %N must be greater than 40 Pitting resistance equivalent number has emerged as a measure of resistance to corrosion although salt spray test and humidity tests are being carried out for corrosion metrics.

Corrosion Behavior of Silica Hybrid Coatings Produced From Basic Catalyzed Particulate Sols by Dipping and EPD Coatings manufacturing is a major feature of the solgel method. Thin films may be easily prepared by dip-coating but thicker coats are necessary for some applications as increasing the corrosion resistance of metals. In these cases, other deposition processes as the electrophoretic deposition technique (EPD) can be used. Inorganic coatings are adequate barriers against oxidation but show a poor behavior in electrolytic media due to the presence of micro-cracks or defects On the other hand, hybrid organic inorganic coatings have demonstrated to give an adequate protection to metals. The incorporation of organic groups makes it possible to increase ductility and thickness (12 Am) and to reduce the defects and micro-cracking, thus enhancing the electrolytic corrosion behavior The use of thicker coatings should allow increasing the corrosion resistance provided the coatings are dense and defect-free

The corrosion resistance of the coatings may be evaluated through electrochemical methods (linear voltametry and polarisation resistance) as a function of different processing parameters: viscosity and concentration of the sol, final thickness of the coating, applied current density, and deposition time.

CONCLUSIONS Corrosion can be mitigated by avoiding perfunctory welding, ameliorating surface preparation, and modification techniques, carrying out more corrosion prevention trials, deploying aluminum instead of stainless steel, implementing advance corrosion technology through research and development. Chromic acid can be employed rather than using sulfuric acid in anodizing. Use of stainless steel is restricted due to (i) Financial implication (ii) Inadequate manufacturers of stainless in India. Silica hybrid coatings can be taken up as a trial measure. Thus corrosion can be minimized through judicious selection of materials and through proper practices and maintenance. Although salt spray test gives a simulated environment, PREN can be calculated.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I wish to convey my deep sense of gratitude to Dr B V Babu for his whole hearted support and valuable guidance for executing this project. Next, I wish to record my gratefulness to Mr.S.L.Ravi Sharma (chief superintendent of chemical and metallurgical lab) for his whole hearted support and valuable guidance for executing this project. He has shown very keen interest in selection of this project. I would like to thank the public sector undertaking in India for having given me a golden opportunity to work on this topic in which I completed my practice school and successfully did a project. Finally, I am grateful to my gratefulness to my mother for her constant support and encouragement. REFERENCES 1. N.R. Mandal, Aluminum welding, Narosa publishing house and ASM international, 2006, ISBN-13 978-0-87170-826-7 2. H.S.Khatak, and Baldev Raj, Corrosion of austenitic stainless steels, Narosa publishing house, 2002, ISBN: 978-81-7319-446-7 3. J F Bosich, Corrosion prevention for practicing engineers, Barnes & Noble Imports, Lanham, Maryland, U.S.A, 1970, ISBN: 0389012645 4. Corrosion behavior of silica hybrid coatings produced from basic catalyzed particulate sols by dipping and EPD Y. Castro, B. Ferrari R. Moreno, A. Durn Instituto de Cermica y Vidrio (CSIC), Campus de Cantoblanco, c/ Kelsen, 28049 Madrid, Spain

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