Corrosion can be defined as a chemical or electrochemical reaction between a material, usually a metal, and its environment that produces a deterioration of the material and its properties. This chapter describes the effects and economic impact of corrosion in major industrial plants. The emphasis in this chapter, as well as in other chapters in this book, is on aqueous corrosion, or corrosion in environments where water is present. The chapter describes the classification of various forms of corrosion based on the nature of the corrodent, mechanism of corrosion, and appearance of the corroded metal. It discusses five primary methods of corrosion control, namely, material selection, coatings, inhibitors, cathodic protection, and design. Examples of the opportunities in corrosion control and the means to implement a program to capitalize on those opportunities are presented in a table. The chapter concludes with varied sources of information pertaining to corrosion and corrosion prevention.

This chapter provides a brief introduction to manufacturing processes used to produce metal parts and how they differ in terms of achievable geometries, tolerances, surface finishes, and production rate.

This chapter discusses the rise of steel minimills in the late 1960s through the leadership of F. Kenneth Iverson and Gerald Heffernan. The discussion covers the development of processes for flat products, flanged beams, and railroad rails. The chapter also covers the growth of the minimill industry along with the consolidation of the industry into large corporations. The chapter ends by providing information on novel processes developed for making iron.

This chapter is an account of the various events that led to the decline of the integrated steel industry during the 1950s. These include the steel strike of 1959, the improvements in technology and increase in imports since 1950s, widespread closures of steel companies, the decline of the minimill industry, and the rapid growth of Mittal Steel.

This chapter discusses the formation and growth of various integrated steel companies from 1901 to 1959, namely the United States Steel Corporation, Bethlehem Steel Corporation, and a few of the notable smaller steel companies. The chapter discusses labor unrest and the growth of organized labor in the steel industry in the twentieth century.

This chapter describes some of events and developments that helped drive the commercialization of beryllium and its acceptance as an engineering material. It traces the growth of the domestic beryllium industry from its origins in the 1920s to the present time, and provides a status update on the primary beryllium producers throughout the world.

This chapter focuses on the evolution of steel production from 1870 to 1900. It begins with a review of the life of the inventor of the air-boiling process, William Kelly. This is followed by a discussion on how Bessemer's air-blowing process entered the steel production industry and the development of the Kelly-Bessemer process by Alexander Holley. The chapter then discusses how Andrew Carnegie lowered the cost to produce steel, how he entered the iron and steelmaking industry, and how Captain Billy Jones joined Carnegie to expand Carnegie steel. The chapter further provides information on the great strike of 1892 at Homestead and the rapid growth in steel markets. It ends with a discussion about the factors that led Carnegie to sell his steel empire.

Boilers are engineered systems designed to convert the chemical energy in fuel into heat to generate hot water or steam. This chapter describes boiler applications and types, including firetube boilers, watertube boilers, electric boilers, packaged boilers, fluidized bed combustion boilers, oil- and gas-fired boilers, waste heat boilers, and black liquor recovery boilers. It also describes the operation and working principle of utility or power plant boilers, covering conventional subcritical and advanced supercritical types.

This introduction presents an overview of the discovery of aluminum, the origins of the aluminum industry, and the evolution of the industry.

This chapter discusses the development of aluminum, its industry growth, and its modern uses in manufacturing. It begins with the biography of Charles Martin Hall, who invented the process for reducing aluminum from its ore. The evolution of aluminum production from the Pittsburgh Reduction Company to a pilot plant on Smallman Street in Pittsburgh, to a production plant in New Kensington, and to Niagara Falls, New York, is then described. This is followed by a discussion on early aluminum applications and the usage of lower-cost raw materials. The chapter provides information on aluminum production process integrated by Aluminum Company of America (Alcoa) and the numerous technical problems and solutions related to Alcoa's research from World War I to World War II. The aerospace applications for aluminum alloys are also presented. The chapter concludes with a section on aluminum alloys developed by Alcoa.

This chapter provides guidelines on how to set up and run an effective quality-improvement program for aluminum extrusion operations. It begins by identifying production processes and variables that impact the quality of hard and soft alloy extrusions. It then presents a series of checklists and flowcharts that can be used to monitor and troubleshoot billet-making and extrusion processes, die construction, equipment maintenance, heat treating, and sawing and stretching procedures. It also discusses the importance of charting test results and monitoring surface treatments that may be required to improve corrosion, oxidation, or wear resistance.

This chapter begins with a brief review of the different types of surface treatments and coatings used in industry and their effect on properties and performance. It then discusses the importance of corrosion and wear treatments and the consequences of failing to properly implement them in critical industries such as mining, energy production, transportation, and mineral and chemical processing. The chapter also describes basic approaches to dealing with corrosion and wear in steel.

This chapter lists all of the references cited in the chapters on damage mechanisms.

This chapter focuses on various factors to be considered at design stage to minimize corrosion. It begins by providing information on design considerations and general corrosion awareness. This is followed by a description of several factors influencing materials-component failure. Details on design and materials selection, which assist in controlling corrosion, are then provided. The chapter ends with a discussion on the design factors that influence corrosion.

This chapter is a brief account of the applications of stainless steel in processes pertinent to the pulp-and-paper industry.

Planning and laying out casting facilities involve a number of vital factors, such as available infrastructure, selection of suitable sites, orientation of operations and process flow, markets and products, operating parameters, and targeted hourly output and annual capacity. This chapter presents guiding principles and layout concepts with these factors in mind. It also presents steps for the creation of a plant layout. Plant layout involves the arrangement of processing areas, machinery, and equipment for the efficient conversion of raw materials into finished products. The chapter discusses general guidelines for developing a layout.

The ability to accurately assess the remaining life of components is essential to the operation of plants and equipment, particularly those in service beyond their design life. This, in turn, requires a knowledge of material failure modes and a proficiency for predicting the near and long term effects of mechanical, chemical, and thermal stressors. This chapter presents a broad overview of the types of damage to which materials are exposed at high temperatures and the approaches used to estimate remaining service life. It explains how operating conditions in power plants and oil refineries can cause material-related problems such as embrittlement, creep, thermal fatigue, hot corrosion, and oxidation. It also discusses the factors and considerations involved in determining design life, defining failure criteria, and implementing remaining-life-assessment procedures.

This chapter concentrates almost exclusively on inspection techniques related to pressure vessels and pipework. The discussion covers the general aspects associated with inspection and the key factors relevant to it. In addition, the chapter addresses processes involved in data collection and management, namely data acquisition, reporting, trending, reviewing, and auditing. Capabilities and limitations of in-service inspection techniques are discussed in the Appendix to this chapter.