Show Me Science Advanced: Engineering Solutions to Corrosion

From the series Exploring the World of Science for High School & Beyond, this short science/career guidance program emphasizes the importance of dealing with corrosion and introduces promising careers for students. Humankind has been using metals since the Bronze Age, but it wasn’t until the Industrial Revolution that iron and steel were heavily employed to build skyscrapers, railroads, and other infrastructure. Aside from a few stable metals—copper, gold, silver, and platinum—most metals slowly break down over time in an electrochemical process known as corrosion. Not only does corrosion cause safety concerns, it also creates an enormous economic cost to control the damage. Since utilities, bridges, vehicles, ships, and military equipment all use metals, the need for effective mitigation techniques—as well as new stable materials—has risen. Major types of corrosion—including uniform, galvanic, pitting, and filiform—are discussed here, along with protection techniques to thwart corrosion, such as physical barriers (painting the Brooklyn Bridge, for example), galvanizing metal, applying a charge through metals to stabilize electrons (as done in pipelines), and adding extra materials to allow tolerances for corrosion. Research into developing more effective materials and advanced applications in corrosion control (including robotics) offer new opportunities for jobs in this field. Corrosion engineers, inspectors, technicians, and metallurgists are some of the career options for high school students to pursue as infrastructure ages. A solid addition to career guidance collections, this is recommended. Aud: J, H, C. (T. Root)