ABSTRACT
It has been well recognised that stress and strain may have significant influences on corrosion. Increasing effort has been made into understanding this so called mechano-electrochemical phenomenon through theoretical, experimental and numerical studies. However, current practice of marine structural analysis often adopts empirically based corrosion models. The majority of these models are derived from historical data and do not explicitly reflect the influence of the actual service conditions such as the mechanical loading. As a result, it is difficult to incorporate realistic corrosion features, often localised and non-uniform, in structural models. This study implemented in situ corrosion experiments into structural strength assessment to incorporate the corrosion-stress interactions over time. This enables the model to capture the dynamic change in thickness reduction spatially and temporally. Bench-shaped features are obtained, closely resembling the corrosion patterns observed in reality. A failure mode change is observed compared to models with uniform thickness reduction.
