Modeling and prediction of long-term corrosion of steel in marine environments

This paper reviews recent developments in the prediction of the likely future corrosion losses and of the maximum pit depth for steels exposed to marine environments. A robust mathematical model based on corrosion science principles and calibrated for immersion conditions to an extensive range of literature and new data is described. The model has provided explanations for the effects of steel composition, water velocity, depth of immersion and seawater salinity and also has facilitated new interpretations of data for long-term pitting corrosion. This paper briefly overviews these developments and refers to some typical applications, including marine corrosion of ship ballast tanks, corrosion of sheet piling in harbours and corrosion of offshore platform mooring chains