• Khan, F.
• Bhandari, J.
• Garaniya, Vikram
• Rabanal, Roberto Ojeda

Abstract

Corrosion is a major cause of structural deterioration in marine and offshore structures. It affects the lifeof process equipment and pipelines, and can result in structural failure, leakage, product loss, environmentalpollution and the loss of life. Pitting corrosion is regarded as one of the most hazardous forms ofcorrosion for marine and offshore structures. The total loss of the structure might be very small, but localrate of attack can be very large and can lead to early catastrophic failure. Pitting corrosion is a localizedaccelerated dissolution of metal that occurs as a result of a breakdown in the protective passive film onthe metal surface. It has been studied for many years; however, the structural failure due to pit characteristicsis still not fully understood. Accurate pit depth measurements, precise strength assessmenttechniques, risk analysis due to pitting, and the mathematical relationship of the environmental factorsthat causes pitting failure are also factors, which need further understanding. Hence this paper focuseson these issues. It reviews and analyses the current understanding of the pitting corrosion mechanismand investigates all possible factors that can cause pitting corrosion. Furthermore, different techniquesemployed by scientists and researchers to identify and model the pitting corrosion are also reviewed andanalysed. Future work should involve an in-depth scientific study of the corrosion mechanism and anengineering predictive model is recommended in order to assess failure, and thereby attempt to increasethe remaining life of offshore assets

Topics

• impedance spectroscopy
• surface
• strength
• pitting corrosion
• steel