Corrosive wear occurs when there is a combination of a wear situation (abrasive or adhesive) and a corrosive environment. The rate of material loss can be very high; many times that which would occur should the individual processes of wear or corrosion be acting alone. This is because loose corrosion products are easily removed by wear to continually reveal fresh metal beneath, which in turn can corrode quickly. Likewise, stable oxide films that would normally limit corrosion (in the absence of wear) are instantly worn away.

It is not unusual to find this sort of situation:-

Corrosive wear is best addressed as a corrosion problem rather than a wear problem. For instance, whilst increasing the surface hardness might reduce wear, it can do nothing to limit corrosion and the wear process can continue unabated. Consult the section on corrosion.

Poeton Industries Ltd. Head Office, Eastern Avenue, Gloucester GL4 3DN, England, UK   Tel: 01452 300500  Fax: 01452 500400
Production facilities in Cardiff & Gloucester and in Wisconsin. USA.