Corrosion, which can be both dangerous and expensive to a wide range of structures, costs the Australian economy between three and five per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) annually.
The best ways to prevent and mitigate corrosion was covered at this year's Corrosion and Prevention (C&P) Conference in Darwin which was attended by asset owners, facilities managers, corrosion engineers and technicians, suppliers and contractors.
Organised by the Australasian Corrosion Association (ACA), the annual C&P Conference brings together industry experts, academics and representatives of commercial organisations to provide opportunities to explore best practice in corrosion management, environmental protection, public safety and economics. The ACA is a not-for-profit organisation formed in 1955.
This year the 2014 PF Thomson Memorial Lecture, which is the keynote address, was presented by Warren Green, director and corrosion engineer at Vinsi Partners and adjunct associate professor at Deakin University's Institute for Frontier Materials. He covered electrochemistry and its affect on the durability of concrete.
Vinsi Partners is an engineering consultancy based in Sydney and Green has worked on the assessment, remedial strategy development and maintenance management of many reinforced concrete and steel structures around the country
In addition to the technical programme, the concurrent trade exhibition allows attendees to see the latest equipment and products available to the industry and social events provide networking opportunities for sponsors, exhibitors and attendees.
Traditionally, the conference is held in November, however the 2014 host city was Darwin so to avoid any problems the wet season might cause, the event was held in September.
The theme was “Get On Top of Corrosion” and was sponsored by Dulux Protective Coatings. The 2015 conference will be held in Adelaide.
Next week the ACA is hosting an event on ‘Protective Coatings Preventing Corrosion’ to be held at the Novotel Brisbane, Queensland on November 20, 2014.
At the Brisbane event, Remedy Asset Protection coatings consultant Justin Rigby will deliver a presentation on the need to be flexible and adaptable when developing protective coating projects. “Despite all the best planning in the world ab off-the-shelf solution rarely works out in the field,” Rigby said.
The impact of corrosion and its management is a serious challenge for owners of structures such as the Sydney Opera House or a gas production platform on the North West Shelf. Selecting and applying the appropriate protective coating is a vital decision for companies and asset owners.
According to Rigby, there are two main ways to protect an asset from corrosion. One is to alter the physical properties of a material by using a technology such as cathodic protection to impress a current into a structure via a sacrificial (galvanic) anode or an impressed current anode to minimise corrosion. The second is to physically isolate structures from the environment by applying a protective coating.
“There are many standards relating to the application of protective surface coatings but sometimes compromises may need to be made,” he said. “When planning for protective coatings it is important to take account of factors such as the geography, access to the structure and climate, all of which impact the cost of the project.”
For details on ACA events visit: www.corrosion.com.au
