SEDL / STP / STP1013-EB / STP19710S

Concepts of Underground Corrosion

Escalante, E
Metallurgist, Corrosion Group, National Bureau of Standards, Gaithersburg, MD

Pages: 14    Published: Jan 1989

Download this paper for $25 PDF (216K)          View License Agreement
Abstract

Corrosion in soil is a complex phenomenon, but there are some basic concepts that are useful in understanding the process. Underground corrosion is electrochemical in character, and this fact is used to describe the corrosion process in terms of an ordinary dry cell. The differences between corrosion in disturbed and undisturbed soil are discussed, and data are presented to emphasize these differences.

The results reveal that soil composition is less important than soil resistivity, but both are subordinate in importance to oxygen availability. Thus, corrosion is negligible in undisturbed soils where oxygen concentration is low.