MARINE CORROSION PROTECTION

A CASE STUDY ON THE STATE OF

CORROSION OF THE SPANISH BOATS

Materials used
Hull metallic and non-metallic materials for shipbuilding
Standard, high-strength and firm ship steel
Titanium and aluminum alloys
Metal- and polymer-based composite materials
Protective coatings

Materials for ship and general machine-building

High-alloy steel
Titanium alloys
Aluminum alloys
Copper alloys
Non-metallic materials

Materials for fabrication of nuclear and heat engines

Hull radiation-resistant plates
Corrosion resistant steels and alloys
High-nickel alloys
Titanium alloys
Polymers and composition materials

Materials used
Shipbuilding steel
The most common material. It is to meet rather strict
requirements: strength, flexibility, high manufacturability, weld
ability, cost, reparability, etc.
Steels used in the domestic shipbuilding industry differ in high
cold-resistance, good welding characteristics and increased
fracture strength.
Structural aluminum alloyswith increased corrosion resistance
as well as aluminum-based composite materials became common
use in construction of high-speed sea and river vessels, as well as
airfoil boats, hydrofoil ships and aerostatic crafts.
Titanium alloysbecame common use in marine facilities.
Distinctive characteristic of their usage is wide spectrum of
operational environment with long service life. In addition to it, the
diversity of types of half-finished items used in ship structures
manufacture is very important.

Materials used
Shipbuilding steel
Fiberglass plasticsare used in construction of hulls of some vessels
(trawlers, sweepers, high-speed airfoil and hydrofoil ships, and yachts).
The main property of the fiberglass plastics is their chemical and
biological stability. Strength and technological properties, improvement
of working conditions, and reduction of costs of workroom air ventilation
are their advantages.
Zincis rather corrosion-resistant material both in air and in water. Rolled
zinc is used in inboard planking of ship rooms. Also, thick plates of rolled
zinc are used in manufacture of protectors. Zinc coating becomes
common use in corrosion prevention for metal surfaces of ship systems.
Copper alloysare very common. It is conditioned by their high
corrosion resistance, adequate strength under various loads, high
antifriction properties, heat and electro conductivity as well as resistance
to fouling. Copper, copper-nickel alloys, aluminum, tin and silicon bronze
and brass are used for manufacture of source water pipelines, ship
fittings, pumps, propellers, heat exchangers, shaft liners, etc.
Paint and lacquer materials used in painting ship constructions

are to meet requirements of relevant standards, technical regulations

(specifications) and have an authorization for the use.

Corrosion
Corrosion is the gradual deterioration of a material or its properties

through a chemical reaction with its environment. There are

several methods of preventing a material from corroding.
Cathodic protection (CP) and coatings are very popular methods

for corrosion protection. Each individual method has its own

benefits and drawbacks, whereas experience has shown that the
most effective method of corrosion prevention is a combination of
both CP and coatings.
This combination can provide very good protection over a long

period of time.
Cathodic protection (CP) is an electrical method used to protect

steel structures buried in soil, or immersed in water, from

corrosion.
Other applications might include : underground storage tanks, lock

gates and dams, water treatment facilities, well casings, rubbish

racks, bridge decks, steel pilings, ship-wetted hulls .

Usual type of corrosion in ships

Usual type of corrosion in ships

Parameters of ship design

Parameters were considered, such as, relative humidity, chloride level and

temperature.
The main results revealed that the significant parameter influencing

corrosion is moisture and that this parameter is implemented by

contaminants like sodium chloride and the duration of the exposure to
wetness.
Finally, it was concluded that different environmental variables of each

route need be considered during ship design.

The Aluminum hull was analyzed, as they exhibited strict regulations for

air blast and underwater shock damage resistance by testing aluminum

alloys in seawater at 23 and 60C. These results showed a low corrosion
rate for application in marine environments due to the intermetallic
particles in the aluminum alloys.
Finally, the hull is not the only ship structure that is affected by corrosion.

Equipment affected by corrosion include the engine propeller, hold frames,

pipes and distillation plants. Considering this, diesel engine exhaust
scrubber materials were tested.
Specifically, titanium and super stainless steel were tested to study their

capability to sustain thermo-hydraulic conditions of the scrubbing system.

These results showed that titanium can support the corrosive conditions.

Cathodic protection
As protection from the different corrosion processes the best

options were found to be cathode protection [24] and paints.

Cathodic protection systems found their earliest use in ships. Sir

Humphrey Davy pioneered cathodic protection systems on naval

ships in 1824. Sir Davy described a method to prevent corrosion
of the copper-clad wooden hulls of British naval. He protected
copper immersed in sea water by attaching a small amount of
iron or zinc, which acted as a sacrificial metal . Today, Davys
procedure is still being used to minimize corrosion damage to
steel vessels by installing zinc anodes on ships across the world
Cathodic protection may be used as a single protection method,

or it may be used in conjunction with other protective systems.

The specific combination of CP and coatings can be regarded as

the most effective way of corrosion prevention from both

practical and economical aspects .

Cathodic protection
There are two main ways of achieving cathodic protection.
Impressed current cathodic protection (ICCP) system and the

sacrificial anodes cathodic protection (SACP) system.

The ICCP system has been commonly used because it
provides remarkable protection against corrosion in all types
of ships and offshore platforms, pipelines, ports, and steel
piles, etc.
In spite of all the benefits of an ICCP system, it does have

the following drawbacks:

Skilled workers are required.
A continuous power supply must be sustained.
The current must always be connected in the right direction.
If permanent anodes are used, then current shields are
required.

Cathodic protection
Installing an SACP system is preferred for older ships as this would

avoid the high initial costs of installing an ICCP system. SACP is

mainly used for short term operation due to its low cost.
The basis of the SACP system is that the potential difference between

the steel to be protected and a second metal in the same

environment causes the driving voltage. If no anodes were attached
to a ships hull, then over time the steel would begin to interact with
electrolytes and oxygen dissolved in seawater. Eventually the steel
would undergo corrosion to revert back to a naturally-occurring ore,
such as iron oxide.
Sacrificial anodes can be used to prevent a hull from corroding in this
manner.
The SACP system has some benefits: in addition to requiring no
power supply to be installed, the sacrificial anode technique is also
very simple to maintain and use. However, it is more expensive than
an ICCP system for long term operation, although it has low initial
costs.

Comparison
The ICCP system is used to protect hulls for these reasons:
Smooth surface, no extra drag
Flexibility
Light for large displacement vessels
Long life time
No welding requirements
Fully automatic

The SACP system is used to protect hulls for these reasons:

Simple installation
Maintenance-free between dry dockings
Worldwide availability
Low cost for short term operation

Paints and coatings

Corrosion prevention by paints
Paint provides protection from corrosion in
three ways: providing a barrier effect
providing an inhibitor effect
providing a galvanic effect.