Page 145 - Challenges in Corrosion Costs Causes Consequences and Control(2015)

TRIBOLOGY 123

2.2.7.5.27 Electronic Computers, integrated circuits, and microchips are exposed
to a variety of environmental conditions, and corrosion manifests itself in several
ways. It is also insidious and cannot be readily detected. Therefore, when corrosion
failure occurs, it is often dismissed as a product failure and the component replaced.
The cost of corrosion in this industry could not be estimated. It is believed that a
significant part of all electric component failures is caused by corrosion.

2.2.7.5.28 Home Appliances This is one of the largest consumer products
industries. The cost of corrosion in home appliances includes the cost of purchasing
replacement appliances because of premature failures caused by corrosion. For
water heaters alone, the replacement cost was estimated at $460 million per
year, with at least 5% being corrosion related. The cost of internal corrosion
protection for all appliances includes the use of sacrificial anodes ($780 million
per year), corrosion-resistant materials, and internal coatings. The annual cost of
external corrosion protection with coatings was estimated at $260 million. The total
direct corrosion costs are at least $1.5 billion.

2.2.7.5.29 Government Although federal, state, and local governments own and
operate significant assets under various departments, the U.S. Department of Defense
was selected for analysis in the study because it strongly affects the U.S. economy.
The other sector of importance, the nuclear waste sector, was also analyzed.

2.2.7.5.30 Defense Corrosion of military equipment and facilities has been
an ongoing problem that is becoming more prominent as the acquisition of new
equipment slows down. Corrosion is potentially the foremost cost driver in the
lifecycle costs in this sector amounting to approximately $20 billion per year.
2.2.7.5.31 Nuclear Waste Storage Nuclear wastes are generated from spent
nuclear fuel, dismantled nuclear weapons, and products such as radio pharma-
ceuticals. The most important design consideration for safe storage of nuclear
waste is effective shielding of radiation. A 1998 total lifecycle analysis by the
U.S. Department of Energy for the permanent disposal of nuclear waste in Yucca
Mountain, Nevada, estimated the repository cost by the construction phase in 2002
to be $4.9 billion with an average annual cost of $205 million through 2116. Of this
cost, $42.2 million is corrosion related.

2.3 TRIBOLOGY

2.3.1 Economies of Wear and Corrosion in the Canadian Industry
The estimated losses because of friction and wear in various Canadian economic
sectors are given in Table 2.8.
The total estimated loss in Canada because of friction and wear amounts to more
than $5 billion annually. The costs given in the table refer to 1986. The costs because
of friction and wear would be much higher in 2013.