Degradation of materials in aqueous systems

从环境和经济的角度来看，金属的腐蚀都具有很大的破坏性。腐蚀会导致化学品泄漏、效率降低，并可能对人群造成危险。此外，据估计，工业化国家的腐蚀成本约为其国民生产总值的5%。这项提案的第一部分是关于开发预测和提高金属和合金寿命的方法，这些金属和合金用于从石油和天然气到核能发电的许多行业。缝隙腐蚀可能是一种特别具有破坏性的腐蚀形式，因为有时只有在故障迫在眉睫时才会注意到它。这项研究的目的是开发一种计算机软件工具，可以用来确定导致这种类型腐蚀的情况。一项实验计划将并行运行。二氧化碳腐蚀是一种加速流动的侵蚀，发生在油田设备中。将开发一个计算机模型，并将进行一项实验研究，以去除保护金属免受这种形式腐蚀的薄膜。在微生物影响的腐蚀中，细菌产生硫化氢气体，这既会导致原油酸化，也会增加腐蚀率。将研究阻止这种有毒气体产生并降低腐蚀率的环保方法。该提案的第二部分涉及钾肥和尿素等颗粒肥料在潮湿空气条件下的降解。如果少量的水分进入这些产品的储存床，可能会形成块状，这使得肥料很难分发。在这项研究中，将研究这种结块发生的条件，并将调查有可能缓解这种现象的添加剂的作用。

The corrosion of metals is very damaging from both environmental and economic standpoints. Corrosion can cause leakage of chemicals, loss of efficiency and it can be hazardous to the population. In addition, it is estimated that the cost of corrosion to industrialized countries is approximately 5 % of their GNP. The first part of this proposal is concerned with the development of methods to predict and improve the lifetime of metals and alloys that used in many industries, from oil and gas, to nuclear power generation. Crevice corrosion can be a particularly destructive form of corrosion as it is sometimes only noticed when failure is imminent. The purpose of this research is the development of a computer software tool that can be used to determine the situations that will cause this type of corrosion. An experimental program will be run in parallel. Carbon dioxide corrosion is a flow-accelerated attack that occurs in oil field equipment. A computer model will be developed and an experimental study will be undertaken on the removal of films that protect the metal from this form of corrosion.  In microbiologically influenced corrosion, bacteria produce hydrogen sulphide gas, which causes both souring of crude oil and increased corrosion rates. Environmentally friendly methods to stop the production of this poisonous gas and reduce the corrosion rate will be investigated. The second part of this proposal is concerned with the degradation of granular fertilizers such as potash and urea when they are exposed to humid air conditions. If small amounts of moisture enter storage beds of these products, clumps may be formed, which makes it difficult to distribute the fertilizer. In this research the conditions under which this clumping occurs will be examined and the actions of additives that have the potential to mitigate this phenomenon will be investigated.