The Secant Rate of Corrosion: Correlating Observations of the USS Arizona Submerged in Pearl Harbor

Authors

Donald L. Johnson, National Park ServiceFollow
Robert J. Deangelis, Niceville, FL
Dana J. Medlin, EAG Laboratories
Jon E. Johnson, Dow Water and Process Solutions
James D. Carr, University of Nebraska - LincolnFollow
David L. Conlin, National Park Service

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

2018

Citation

JOM, Vol. 70, No. 5, 2018

Comments

© 2018 The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society

This document is a U.S. government work and is not subject to copyright in the United States.

https://doi.org/10.1007/s11837-018-2797-0

Abstract

Contrary to previous linear projections of steel corrosion in seawater, analysis of an inert marker embedded in USS Arizona concretion since the 7 December 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor reveals evidence that the effective corrosion rate decreases with time. The secant rate of corrosion, or SRC correlation, derived from this discovery could have a significant impact on failure analysis investigations for concreted shipwrecks or underwater structures. The correlation yields a lower rate of metal thinning than predicted. Development of the correlation is described.