Chapter 8: Corrosion Control by Materials Selection

The challenge of materials selection is to achieve adequate performance at the lowest possible cost. Corrosion resistance is not the only property to be considered in making materials selections. Typical requirements and some of the procedures involved in making a selection and some of the factors that must be considered when determining the corrosion performance of a given material are listed in this chapter. The various steps that might be included in a materials selection process are then examined. These include a review of operating conditions and design, the selection of candidate materials, the in-depth evaluation of each candidate material, fabrication requirements, follow-up monitoring, and final materials selection. Material considerations such as cost, materials properties, and processing and fabrication requirements are subsequently covered. Finally, the chapter provides information on materials selection under general corrosion conditions and under conditions of localized corrosion forms such as pitting, crevice corrosion, and stress-corrosion cracking.