Unit 1 WHAT IS CORROSION?
1 . Read the international words, guess their meanings and give the Russian equivalents.
Corrosion, phenomenon, electrode, electrolyte, filtrate, laboratory, result, structure, radiator, acid, contribution, molecule, element, degradation, component.
2 . Read and translate the following verbs.
To contribute, to corrode, to protect, to destroy, to apply, to use, to affect, to observe, to establish, to make, to generate, to concentrate, to develop, to refer to, to replace, to perforate.
3 . Match the English phrases from column A with the Russian phrases in column B.
4 . Read and translate the text. Summarize it in Russian.
Corrosion is the deterioration of materials by chemical interaction with their environment. The term corrosion is sometimes also applied to the degradation of plastics, concrete and wood, but generally refers to metals. The most widely used metal is iron (usually as steel) which usually corrodes.
The word corrosion is as old as the earth but it has been known by different names. Corrosion is known commonly as rust, an undesirable phenomena which destroys the luster and beauty of objects and shortens their life. A Roman philosopher, Pliny (AD 23-79) wrote about the destruction of iron in his essay “Ferrum Corrumpitar”. Corrosion since ancient times has affected not only the quality of daily lives of people, but also their technical progress.
Philosophers, writers and scientists observed corrosion and mentioned it in their writings: Pliny the elder, Herodotus, Lomonosov, Austin, Thenard, Hall, Davy and De la Rive.
The most important contributions were later made by Faraday who established a quantitative relationship between chemical action and electric current. Ideas on corrosion control started to be generated at the beginning of nineteenth century. Whitney provided a scientific basis for corrosion control based on electrochemical observation. As early as in eighteenth century it was observed that iron corrodes rapidly in dilute nitric acid but remains unattacked in concentrated nitric acid. Considerable progress towards the modern understanding of corrosion was made by the contributions of Evans, Uhlig and Fontana. Corrosion laboratories established in M.I.T., USA and University of Cambridge, UK, contributed significantly to the growth and development of corrosion science and technology as a multi disciplinary subject. In recent years, corrosion science and engineering has become an integral part of engineering education globally. (From Trakia Journal of Sciences, vol.3, № 7, 2005).
5 . Read the text again. Decide whether the following statements are true or false.
1. Corrosion is the degradation of materials due to interactions with their environments.
2. A French philosopher, Pliny (AD 23-79) wrote about the iron compounds in his essay “Ferrum Corrumpitar”.
3. Faraday established a qualitative relationship between oxidising action and electric current.
4. Whitney provided a scientific basis for corrosion control based on the cathodic protection.
5. In recent years, corrosion science and engineering has disappeared in engineering education.
6 . Read the text. What is its main idea?
Корро́зия (от лат. corrosio – разъедание) – это самопроизвольное разрушение металлов в результате химического или физико-химического взаимодействия с окружающей средой. В общем случае это разрушение любого материала, будь то металл или керамика, дерево или полимер. Причиной коррозии служит термодинамическая неустойчивость конструкционных материалов к воздействию веществ, находящихся в контактирующей с ними среде.
Коррозия металлов – разрушение металлов вследствие химического или электрохимического взаимодействия их с коррозионной средой. Наиболее часто при коррозии металл окисляется с образованием ионов металла, которые при дальнейших превращениях дают различные продукты коррозии. Коррозия может быть вызвана как химическим, так и электрохимическим процессом. Соответственно различают химическую и электрохимическую коррозию металлов. (From forexaw.com).
7. Work in pairs. Translate the following text from English into Russian.
The major harmful effects of corrosion can be summarized as follows:
1. Reduction of metal thickness leading to loss of mechanical strength and structural failure or breakdown.
2. Hazards or injuries to people arising from structural failure or breakdown (e.g. bridges, cars, aircraft).
3. Loss of time in availability of profile-making industrial equipment.
4. Reduced value of goods due to deterioration of appearance.
5. Contamination of fluids in vessels and pipes.
6. Perforation of vessels and pipes allowing escape of their contents and possible harm to the surroundings. For example a leaky domestic radiator can cause expensive damage to carpets and decorations, while corrosive sea water may enter the boilers of a power station if the condenser tubes perforate.
7. Loss of technically important surface properties of a metallic component. These could include frictional and bearing properties, ease of fluid flow over a pipe surface, electrical conductivity of contacts, surface reflectivity or heat transfer across a surface.
8. Mechanical damage to valves, pumps, etc, or blockage of pipes by solid corrosion products.
8 . Work in pairs. Interpret the following passage sentence by sentence.
Corrosion is a natural and costly process of destruction like earthquakes, tornados, floods and volcanic eruptions, with one major difference. Сorrosion can be prevented or at least controlled. Several definitions of corrosion are reproduced below:
(A) Corrosion is the surface wastage that occurs when metals are exposed to reactive environments.
(B) Corrosion is the result of interaction between a metal and environments which results in its gradual destruction.
(C) Corrosion is an aspect of the decay of materials by chemical or biological agents.
(D) Corrosion is an extractive metallurgy in reverse.
(E) Corrosion is the deterioration of materials as a result of reaction with its environment (Fontana).
(F) Corrosion is the destructive attack of a metal by chemical or electrochemical reaction with the environment (Uhlig).
Despite different definitions, it can be observed that corrosion is basically the result of interaction between materials and their environment.
9 . Give English equivalents to the following word combinations and learn them by heart:
химическое взаимодействие
физико-химическое взаимодействие
термодинамическая неустойчивость
разрушение металлов
металл окисляется
электрохимический процесс
коррозийная среда
причины коррозии
10 . Give Russian equivalents to the following word combinations and learn them by heart:
reduction of metal thickness
loss of mechanical strength
structural failure
perforation of vessels and pipes
profile-making industrial equipment
electrical conductivity
blockage of pipes
solid corrosion products
11 . Translate the following sentences into Russian.
1. Millions of dollars are lost each year due to the corrosion of iron and steel.
2. The problem with iron as well as many other metals is that the oxide formed by oxidation does not firmly adhere to the surface of the metal and flakes off easily causing "pitting".
3. Extensive pitting eventually causes structural weakness and disintegration of the metal.
4. Corrosion occurs in the presence of moisture.
5. The formation of rust can occur at some distance away from the actual pitting or erosion of iron.
6. The involvement of water accounts for the fact that rusting occurs much more rapidly in moist conditions as compared to a dry environment such as a desert.
7. The presence of salt greatly enhances the rusting of metals.
8. Iron or steel tend to corrode much more quickly when exposed to salt or moist salty air near the ocean.
9. The dissolved salt increases the conductivity of the aqueous solution formed at the surface of the metal and enhances the rate of electrochemical corrosion.
12 . Translate the following sentences into English.
1. Среда, в которой металл подвергается коррозии (коррозирует), называется коррозионной или агрессивной средой.
2. Причиной возникновения и протекания процессов коррозии является термодинамическая неустойчивость материалов к определенным компонентам, находящимся в окружающей их среде.
3. Ежегодно коррозия наносит огромнейший ущерб народному хозяйству каждой страны.
4. Результатом коррозии являются продукты коррозии (например, ржавчина), вышедшее из строя оборудование, разрушение конструкций.
5. Большинство металлов (кроме золота, серебра, платины, меди) встречаются в природе в ионном состоянии: оксиды, сульфиды, карбонаты – называются обычно рудами.
6. Защита от коррозии является одной из важнейших проблем, имеющей большое значение для народного хозяйства.
7. Основной ущерб от коррозии металла связан не только с потерей больших количеств металла, но и с порчей или выходом из строя самих металлических конструкций.
8. Вследствие коррозии металлы теряют необходимую прочность, пластичность, герметичность, тепло- и электропроводность и другие необходимые качества.
9. Коррозии подвергаются не только металлы, но и любые материалы, например бетон, пластмасса, резина или керамика.
13 . Translate the following word combinations.
Разрушение металлов – electrical current – термодинамическая неустойчивость – conductivity – коррозийная среда – rust – электрохимическая коррозия – gradual destruction – руда – mechanical damage – ионное состояние – condenser tubes – металлическая конструкция.
14 . Give the definitions of the words and word combinations.
1. Resistance is…
2. Ductility is…
3. Hermiticity is …
4. Heat-conducting is …
5. Electroconductivity is …
15 . Give the example(s) of the chemical interaction.
16 . Answer the following questions using texts from Unit 1.
1. What does corrosion mean?
2. What are the consequences of corrosion?
3. What types of corrosion do you know?
4. What conditions does rusting occur in?
17 . Summarize the general ideas developed in all the texts of the Unit 1.