An advanced, patented probe sensor provides early detection of water infrastructure problems caused by corrosion and harsh atmospheric conditions. Designed to detect graphitization in active pipelines, it identifies areas at risk of major failures early on. By using indirect methods like GIS mapping, in-situ soil resistivity testing, and structure-to-soil potential measurements, high-risk zones can be pinpointed. Once these areas are identified, the probe assesses the severity and depth of graphitization, providing a comprehensive evaluation of the pipeline’s condition. This allows for the implementation of effective corrosion management strategies, including cathodic protection systems, to prevent critical failures. This article describes the sensor system and provides a case study of its use. The technology received the 2024 Engineering Materials Achievement Award from ASM International.

A new ISO standard could help spur development of new surface treatments and innovative products that can help defend against harmful bacteria and biofilms. This article describes the successful development and adoption of a new standard, ISO 4768:2023, that addresses measurement of anti-biofilm activity on plastic and other nonporous surfaces.

This article explores one of the most commonly used analytical techniques in plastic component failure analysis—Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy—along with a case study to demonstrate its use.

Efforts are underway in every sector of the scientic community to explore and develop possible strategies and solutions to counter sea level rise and climate change. Near-term materials science implications include improvements to corrosion-resistant materials and coatings.

Development of international antibacterial standards will greatly benefit society by helping industry produce goods with better antibacterial, anti-biofilm, an anti-biofouling properties.

A promising method of testing aerospace coatings could help minimize exposure to hexavalent chromium by understanding coating lifecycles.

As industrial infrastructure continues to age, the risk of corrosion-related incidents becomes greater, increasing the need for detailed analysis of residual elements in steel framework and equipment. X-ray fluorescence is seeing greater use due to new smaller, lightweight equipment designs.

Corrosion is commonly defined as the deterioration of a material or its properties because of a reaction with its environment. It is a natural process due to a high energy state induced in metals and alloys during refining, processing, and manufacturing. Modern methods for preventing and controlling corrosion can reduce or eliminate its impact on public safety, the economy, and the environment. New technologies push materials to withstand increasingly demanding conditions as a result of higher temperatures and pressures, and environments with greater corrosivity. Therefore, the risks of new types of corrosion failures need to be considered along with methods to avoid them, as described in this article.

The U.S. Naval Academy is expanding awareness about corrosion-related material degradation, its effects on force readiness, and efforts to manage it. One of the goals of the Naval Academy’s corrosion education efforts and corrosion-related STEM activities is to teach students to understand materials degradation processes and prevention methods for aging defense systems.

This article considers the effect of atomic oxygen exposure in low earth orbit on thin film solid lubricants of molybdenum disulphide and diamond-like carbon nanocomposites, a silica-containing diamond-like carbon film. Advances in deposition methods over the past few decades enable dense films to be created that are more resistant to oxidative degradation and the effects of adsorbed moisture than their predecessors. Further, incorporating additional phases improves the tribological performance of the films in a range of atmospheres.

The corrosion of structural materials and control of coolant chemistry are key factors that impact the lifetime of nuclear reactors and the development of future reactors. This article reviews corrosion issues in four reactor concepts that use vastly different coolant types: light water reactors, lead fast reactors, high temperature gas-cooled reactors, and fluoride salt-cooled high temperature reactors.

Thermal spray coatings are widely used to keep power plants running at full capacity. An example is the application of HVOF-sprayed CrC-NiCr to protect generating and superheater banks from sulfuric and vanadium gases. Other examples include the use of arc spraying to deposit high Cr content Ni alloy to extend the life of coal-fired boiler tubes and to apply amorphous work hardening coatings to surfaces in the flu gas path that are susceptible to high-temperature corrosion and wear.

A new fusion cladding process that uses high-intensity arc lamps can produce pinhole free, smooth, uniform coatings as thick as 15 mm from various feedstock materials. This article briefly describes the process and the corrosion, wear, and high-temperature behavior of fusion claddings designed for oil and gas pipelines and related components.

In this study, 316L stainless steel samples were plasma nitrided for 64 h at 370-420 °C then subjected to surface hardness and pitting corrosion testing. The results show that interstitial hardening with nitrogen significantly improved the surface hardness as well as the pitting corrosion resistance of the austenitic stainless steel.

The growth and exfoliation of thermally grown oxides, or scales, in steam power plants is a complex phenomenon that depends on alloy composition, microstructure (including surface condition), temperature, pressure, and plant operation. This article discusses the factors that contribute to oxide scale buildup in ultrasupercritical boiler tubes and ongoing efforts to mitigate problems due to steam-side oxidation and exfoliation in high-efficiency power plants.

Corrosion under insulation (CUI) exacts a heavy toll on petrochemical processing equipment, particularly piping, where leaks and safety risks associated with CUI drive maintenance costs. This article assesses the high cost of CUI and explains how the petrochemical industry is working to reduce those costs by protecting components with thermal spray aluminum (TSA) coatings and by employing complementary pipe welding procedures.

Laboratory tests conducted at the University of Southampton, UK, found that many species of bacteria including hospital superbugs, MRSA and VRE, are killed in less than 2 h on copper alloy surfaces. Tests conducted in a third-party lab subject to EPA audits confirmed these results, concluding that a range of copper alloy surfaces, such as brass, bronze, copper nickel, and nickel silver, achieve a 99.9% reduction of bacteria within 2 h of contact and that the effect is not impaired by tarnish. Other such tests have since been conducted and the results are presented in the article.

Optimizing the integrity and performance of highly engineered surfaces and structures requires the ability to visualize and understand material behavior over multiple length and time scales from a three-dimensional perspective. The Electron Microscopy Centre at the University of Manchester is equipped for such work as demonstrated in problem-solving scenarios involving multiscale imaging and analysis of the progression of intergranular corrosion in Al alloy 2024, the catalytic effect of silver nanoparticles in seawater, recrystallization in a volume element of a bronze alloy, and defect progression on graphene surfaces.

Researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) use a combination of scanning and transmission electron microscopy, atom probe tomography, and focused ion beam milling to analyze corrosion and crack structures in light-water reactor components with near-atomic spatial resolution.