Corrosion conference showcased latest knowledge and technologies

Delegates to Corrosion & Prevention 2016 (C&P2016) conference and trade exhibition in Auckland were greeted with a traditional Maori haka, along with other traditional dances, at the start of the event that was staged at the SkyCity Convention Centre on Auckland’s scenic harbour in November.

The conference brought together a panel of industry experts to discuss the challenges brought by new technologies and materials in addition to the importance of maintaining vital infrastructure. The convention and trade exhibition provided a forum for all corrosion stakeholders to meet and discuss a wide range of topics. Attendees were able to participate in seminars and hear technical papers covering best practice in corrosion management, environmental protection techniques, public safety and economics.

Corrosion has a major economic impact on industry and the wider community: it is estimated that governments and organisations spend billions of dollars every year mitigating and repairing corrosion damage.

The design, construction and operation of facilities and infrastructure represent major investments by companies, organisations and governments. Corrosion will affect all structures at varying rates over time, depending on the material used, the types of corrosive agents in the environment and the physical processes and mechanisms involved. How to manage this degradation is a challenge for designers and engineers, as well as asset owners, managers and operators.

C&P2016 revealed the latest technical advances and research on corrosion mitigation. Plenary speakers included Professor Digby Macdonald from University of California, whose current research is titled ‘Simulating Coolant and Corrosion Processes in Water-Cooled Nuclear Reactors and the Development of Deterministic Corrosion Damage Models’.

Plenary lectures were also delivered by Howard Combs, General Manager Global Sales, Carboline USA, a specialist in elastomeric coating technology; David Williams, Professor in Electrochemistry at the University in Auckland; and Nick Laycock, Senior Materials & Corrosion Engineer at Shell Qatar.

Speakers and delegates continue to raise the profile of corrosion and its mitigation, as well as working to place corrosion control on the national agenda. In his opening speech the retiring President of the ACA, John Duncan, emphasised that there is a direct cost to the economy of at least 2% of GDP per year due to materials degradation, and somewhere between 25% and 40% of the cost is avoidable using already-known technology.

A common view expressed by delegates was that because corrosion crosses a range of disciplines, a good mix of people attend the annual conference and trade exhibition including engineers and experts in addition to asset owners and managers.

In the continuing efforts to minimise the impact of corrosion, new materials are being developed to build structures and procedures implemented that have been designed to protect both new and existing facilities. The corrosion effects of these new materials have to be researched and analysed.

The keynote address at each C&P Conference is the PF Thomson Memorial Lecture, which has been delivered every year since 1951. Percival Faraday Thompson (1885–1951) is recognised as Australasia’s pioneer in the science and technology of metallic corrosion and its mitigation. The lecture is the association’s premier dedicated lecture which strives to emulate the academic and technical qualities for which Thompson became known.

Dr Patricia Shaw was selected to give the 2016 PF Thompson Memorial Lecture. Shaw is the Better Buildings Research Team Leader at BRANZ and leads a team of material scientists, fire engineers and structural engineers researching improved techniques and materials for use in the building industry. She obtained a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Auckland and has more than 20 years’ experience as a materials scientist.

In her presentation, Shaw defined corrosion as the deterioration of materials by interaction with their environment. While the term ‘corrosion’ is generally used in reference to metals, it also applies to the degradation of polymers, concrete and wood. Shaw’s presentation explored the causes and effects of corrosion on polymeric materials and provided an overview of the environmental factors which may affect polymeric materials, and the impact of those effects on their performance. She also discussed the challenges of measuring and understanding polymer degradation and presented some practical examples to illustrate the importance of this field of corrosion research. Ways to mitigate corrosion include restricting the design load on the material and to include UV stabilisers in the polymer mix.

The ACA works with industry and academia to research all aspects of corrosion in order to provide an extensive knowledge base that supports best practice in corrosion management, thereby ensuring all impacts of corrosion are responsibly managed, the environment is protected, public safety enhanced and economies improved. The work of Dr Shaw and her team adds to the accumulated knowledge available to industry and other academics.

In 2017, the ACA will being saying “G’day, mate” to delegates attending next year’s Corrosion & Prevention event when the conference returns once more to Sydney. As always, the conference will be the premier corrosion event in the Asia Pacific region and will feature a program of keynote speakers and technical presentations.