One of the more important aspects of our efforts to explore the world's oceans is concerned with the performance of standard engineering materials in the ocean's environments. Of the factors affecting performance, corrosion is perhaps the most important. There are several forms of corrosion, each one different from the other. One type of corrosion which is of immense importance in the ocean engineering field, is pitting corrosion. It is important since it can cause catastrophic damage. It is also important since the chloride ion, the ocean's major constituent, is believed to be of prime importance to the pitting reactions. Thus more effort needs to be extended toward devising economical and reliable corrosion control techniques for materials used in the marine environment. For this reason a study of corrosion due to seawater was undertaken at the University of Rhode Island.

You do not currently have access to this content.