Page 415 - Challenges in Corrosion Costs Causes Consequences and Control(2015)

THE ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONICS INDUSTRY 393

of behavior even 10 years into the future has been difficult enough, but significant
progress has now been made in the resolution of the problem (44).

5.8 FOSSIL FUEL ENERGY SYSTEMS

Acid rain was recognized as a serious environmental pollutant long before the green-
house effect and shown to involve gaseous pollutants such as carbon dioxide, nitrogen
dioxide, and sulfur dioxide. Acid rain intensified by acid-generating sulfur com-
pounds from fossil fuel power stations had a devastating effect on the ecology of
large areas. In the United States, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over-
sees the regulation of air pollution and sets up a rigorous enforcement timetable. The
polluting industries identified are pulp and paper, municipal incinerators, chemical
plants, and coal-fired electric power plants. The electric power industry was targeted
by the EPA to reduce the amounts of air pollutants. The first flue gas desulfurization
or scrubber system at a coal-fired plant in the United States was installed and oper-
ated in 1968. By 1995, 110 sites with 261 units were required to comply with EPA
regulations.

5.9 THE AEROSPACE INDUSTRY
The safety record of this sector has been enviable because the aerospace industry is
based on a manufacturing environment with a very high and proper regard to opti-
mizing corrosion performance. In a span of 50 years, passenger travel has progressed
from the 50 seater comet airliner to 800 and even 1000 passenger aircraft. In the early
stages of the world’s first jet-engine metal fuselage, there were many fatal crashes
because of fatigue failure caused by cracks emanating from the window openings.
At present, there are very few fatal accidents because of corrosion failure, despite
total reliance on high-performance light alloys of reactive aluminum. This does not
mean that corrosion problems have been banished from the aerospace industry. On
the contrary, there are many cases of corrosion failures. Correct materials manage-
ment programs have been adopted from the beginning to the end of the project, such
as careful materials performance evaluation prior to use; adoption of good design
principles; application of effective barrier coatings; regular and efficient inspection
and maintenance schedules.

5.10 THE ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONICS INDUSTRY

This facet of industry might appear to be free from corrosion. On the contrary, there
are problems such as the corrosion of aluminum used for tracks on most devices.
There is the high probability of strong galvanic interaction with gold used for
connectors. Many critical systems must function in severe environments such as a
∘
temperature range below zero to 40 C, 100% humidity, airborne particulate matter
and insects. This is certainly a challenging problem.