Evaluation of Deoxygenation as a Corrosion Control Measure for Ballast Tanks

Abstract

Field experiments designed to evaluate deoxygenation of natural seawater as a corrosion control measure for unprotected seawater ballast tanks demonstrated decreased corrosion in hypoxic (<0.2 ppm O2) seawater using weight loss and linear polarization measurements. The experiments also demonstrated the difficulty of maintaining hypoxic seawater. Using a gas mixture it was possible to displace dissolved oxygen in natural seawater. However, aerobic respiration and corrosion reactions consumed oxygen and produced totally anaerobic conditions within the first days of hypoxia. When gaskets and seals failed oxygen was inadvertently introduced. The impact on corrosion depended on the amount of dissolved oxygen in the system at the time of the inadvertent oxygen introduction. Steels exposed to cycles of hypoxic seawater and oxygenated atmosphere had the highest corrosion rate and severity.

Open PDF

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Apr 01, 2005
Accession Number
ADA432839

Entities

People

  • Brenda J. Little
  • Edward Lemieux
  • Jason S. Lee
  • Richard I. Ray

Organizations

  • United States Naval Research Laboratory

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Sensors

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Atmospheres
  • Ballast Tanks
  • Body Weight
  • Carbon Steels
  • Chemical Synthesis
  • Chemistry
  • Corrosion Resistance
  • Deoxygenation
  • Department Of Defense
  • Government (Foreign)
  • Governments
  • Linear Polarization
  • Materials
  • Measurement
  • Military Research
  • Physical Chemistry
  • Test And Evaluation

Fields of Study

  • Environmental science

Readers

  • Auditory Neuroscience/Auditory Physiology.
  • Environmental Engineering
  • Materials Science and Engineering.