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Corrosion behaviour and biofouling characteristics of structural steel in the

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Corrosion behaviour and biofouling characteristics of

structural steel in the coastal waters of the Gulf of
Mannar (Bay of Bengal), India
a a b
S. Palanichamy , G. Subramanian & M. Eashwar
a
Offshore Platform and Marine Electrochemistry Centre, CSIR - Central Electrochemical
Research Institute, New Harbour Area, Tuticorin, 628 004, India
b
Corrosion Research Centre, CSIR - Central Electrochemical Research Institute, Mandapam
Camp, 623 519, India

Available online: 04 May 2012

To cite this article: S. Palanichamy, G. Subramanian & M. Eashwar (2012): Corrosion behaviour and biofouling characteristics
of structural steel in the coastal waters of the Gulf of Mannar (Bay of Bengal), India, Biofouling: The Journal of Bioadhesion
and Biofilm Research, 28:5, 441-451

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 Biofouling
Vol. 28, No. 5, May 2012, 441–451

Corrosion behaviour and biofouling characteristics of structural steel in the coastal waters of the
Gulf of Mannar (Bay of Bengal), India
S. Palanichamya*, G. Subramaniana and M. Eashwarb
a
Offshore Platform and Marine Electrochemistry Centre, CSIR - Central Electrochemical Research Institute, New Harbour Area,
Tuticorin 628 004, India; bCorrosion Research Centre, CSIR - Central Electrochemical Research Institute, Mandapam Camp 623
519, India
(Received 1 December 2011; final version received 4 April 2012)

The corrosion behaviour and biofouling characteristics of structural steel coupons at three different locations in the
Gulf of Mannar were studied over a period of 2 years. Oyster fouling was predominant at Tuticorin open sea, while
barnacle fouling was more pronounced at Mandapam and Tuticorin harbour. Among the three locations, Tuticorin
open sea showed a markedly higher biomass, particularly after 12 and 18 months. The extent of crevice corrosion
caused by hard foulers was more pronounced at Tuticorin harbour when compared to that at the other two
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locations. The corrosion rate of the structural steel coupons for 24 months was in the order, Mandapam 4
Tuticorin harbor 4 Tuticorin open sea. The loss in tensile strength at 12 and 24 months was in the order, Tuticorin
open sea 4 Tuticorin harbor 4 Mandapam. The corrosion behaviour of the structural steel coupons was strongly
influenced by the variations in the biofouling assemblage at the three different coastal locations.
Keywords: structural steel; polarization; weight loss; crevice corrosion; tensile strength; fouling organisms; coastal
waters; water quality

Introduction dioxide are particularly important in the context of

Marine fouling is an economically important problem corrosion; (7) the presence of a myriad of organic com-
facing all the maritime nations of the world. Marine pounds; (8) the existence of biological life (Compton
fouling organisms can affect working installations in 1970; Schumacher 1979; Dexter and Culberson 1980).
the sea and lead to the special characteristic known as Variations in the chemistry of open ocean seawater
corrosion (Compton 1970; Efird 1976). Industrializa- tend to take place slowly over time periods of a few to
tion and urbanization of the cities along the coastal several months. Such gradual changes may produce an
region over the years have made the environment more equally gradual change in the corrosion rate of
aggressive in terms of both pollution and corrosion. structural materials with season and location, but they
This fact necessitates greater knowledge of the are unlikely to produce sharp changes in either the
behaviour of materials in coastal seawater and in corrosion mechanism or the corrosion rate (Zayed et al.
particular calls for data on their resistance. 2005). On the other hand, changes that take place over
The major chemical constituents of seawater are periods of hours to days can occur as a result of point
consistent worldwide. The minor constituents, how- inputs of various chemical pollutants. These effects can
ever, vary from site to site with season, storms and tidal lead to sharp chemical gradients over short distances on
cycles and include dissolved trace elements and a temporary or more continuous basis and these will
dissolved gases. The minor chemical constituents of affect the performance of marine engineering alloys.
seawater are the rate-controlling factor in the corrosion Studies on the effect of pollutants on corrosion are very
of structural and engineering metals and alloys. The limited and this is thus dealt with in the present study.
chemical and physical properties of natural seawater Long-term studies of seawater corrosion done in the
that affect corrosion of metals have been well docu- early part of this century at several locations throughout
mented, and these are: (1) the ratios of the concentra- the world were summarized by LaQue (1949). Long-time
tions of the major constituents; (2) the presence of materials performance in the marine environment
chloride; (3) a high electrical conductivity; (4) a reveals a remarkable consistency in the corrosion of
relatively constant pH; (5) the buffering capacity; (6) many engineering alloys in open ocean waters, regard-
solubility for gases, of which oxygen and carbon less of geographical location. However, LaQue (1949)

*Corresponding author. Email: spscientist18@rediffmail.com

ISSN 0892-7014 print/ISSN 1029-2454 online

Ó 2012 Taylor & Francis
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08927014.2012.684947
http://www.tandfonline.com
 442 S. Palanichamy et al.

and Ijsseling (1989) suggested that large deviations can of Bengal). Three different test locations were chosen
occur locally in coastal and/or polluted areas. Studies by on the basis of available data (Palanichamy and
Palanichamy and Rajendran (2000) indicated that local Rajendran 2000) which indicate that the coastal waters
condition of coastal water quality can differ significantly of Tuticorin (8880 N; 788130 E) are relatively polluted
as a result of industrial pollution. The effect of pollutants compared to the coastal waters of Mandapam (98160 N;
introduced into coastal waters on the corrosion of 79890 E). This variation is believed to be due to intense
marine engineering alloys is not fully understood. Much industrial activities along the Tuticorin coast, and the
of the marine corrosion database available in this general absence of industries in the Mandapam region.
country is irrelevant to polluted waters. In order to Two locations were considered in the coastal waters of
obtain realistic corrosion data, these effects should be Tuticorin, one in the open sea and the other within the
taken into account. sheltered waters of the harbour. The depth of the water
Until the 1970s and into the early 1980s marine column in the open sea and in the sheltered harbour
corrosion and marine fouling were treated as two waters of Tuticorin was 6 and 8 m, respectively, while
separate processes, and several investigators ignored it was 2 m at the Mandapam site.
the role of the biological constituent of seawater in
metal corrosion. Over the years, difficulties in obtain-
ing meaningful data in simulated laboratory tests Preparation of metal coupons and exposure to
(Kain and Lee 1985) highlighted the fact that natural seawater
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seawater is more aggressive than synthetic substitutes. The structural steel coupons had the following
Today, it is widely acknowledged by investigators composition: 0.05% C; 0.04% Si, and balance Fe.
worldwide that dissolved organics and the living The coupons (150 6 100 6 2 mm) were pickled in
component of seawater play a crucial role in marine Clarke’s solution as per the ASTM recommendation
corrosion (Baboian 2005). (1995), washed with soap solution, dried, ground
The studies mentioned above are a clear indication successively with metallographic emery paper of
that local water quality can differ significantly from increasing fineness of up to 800 grit (Champion
open ocean and this can produce anomalous corrosion 1952), polished with 1, 0.5 and 0.3 mm alumina slurries
behavior of the common engineering alloys. There is (Buehler), weighed to an accuracy of 1074 g, and
also some evidence in the literature that local pollution stored in desiccators until use. The coupons were
can have a marked effect on the type and extent of mounted on wooden rafts using PVC washers and
fouling (Swami and Udaykumar 2010) which, in turn, insulated brass bolts and nuts. The rafts were then
can affect the performance of engineering alloys immersed at a water depth of 1 m below the mean low-
(Subramanian 1993). Although data on the perfor- tide level at the three test locations previously
mance of engineering materials in polluted waters is described. The coupons were removed after exposure
rather limited, they nevertheless strongly suggest that for 3, 6, 9, 12, 18 and 24 months for the evaluation of
corrosion data from open ocean environments are corrosion and fouling.
unlikely to be relevant for service of the alloys in coastal
seawater locations that receive significant amounts of
pollutants. It is the case that data on materials Specimen preparation and tensile strength
performance in Indian waters are mainly limited to measurement
open ocean conditions. Structural steel is used in most Standard plate-type rectangular tension test speci-
metal waterfront structures because it is strong, readily mens with a cross sectional area of 20 mm2 were
available, easily fabricated, and not excessively costly. prepared in triplicate as per the ASTM Test Method
This calls for the urgent need to investigate the E8 (1985a). These specimens received the same
performance of engineering alloy like structural steel surface preparation, mounting and immersion pro-
in coastal environments of varying water quality, Thus cedures as described above, and were removed after
the objective of the present study was to investigate the exposure for 12 and 24 months. The tensile strength
corrosion and biofouling characteristics of structural (ultimate tensile strength) of the as-received and
steel at three coastal locations in the Bay of Bengal seawater exposed structural steel specimens were
(Indian Ocean) marked by variations in water quality. measured using a Universal Testing Machine (Uni-
versal 2001, Model No. 60). From the obtained load
for each specimen, the ultimate tensile strength was
Materials and methods
calculated by dividing the maximum force carried by
Test locations the specimen during the tension test by the original
The present study was conducted in the Gulf of cross-sectional area of the specimen, and expressed
Mannar, which is on the southeast coast of India (Bay as megapascals (MPa).
 Biofouling 443

Characterization of fouling and corrosion APDC-MIBK pre-concentration procedure (Brooks

The biomass formed on metal coupons over the study et al. 1967) and estimated on an atomic absorption
period was scrapped and dried to a constant weight at spectrometer (GBC 932 Plus).
1008C and weighed to an accuracy of 1074 g. The
biomass was expressed as kg m72 and each value is the
mean of triplicate coupons. The fouling characteristics Statistical analyses
of the structural steel were also studied in terms of the One way ANOVA was performed on Mircocal
numbers of settled organisms, species-wise occurrence ORIGIN software to analyze statistical significance
of macrofouling organisms and community develop- among selected water quality parameters for the three
ment pattern. Fouling organisms were identified to test locations. One way ANOVA was also performed
genus and species levels following previous records for evaluating the statistical significance of corrosion
from the study regions (Maruthamuthu et al. 1990; rates and loss in ultimate tensile strength among the
Eashwar et al. 1991). After scraping the biomass, the three test locations after 12 and 24 months exposure.
corrosion products were removed using recommended Linear regression fit and ANOVA were computed for
pickling solutions, ie Clarke’s solution. The metal all the mean values of biomass load and corrosion rate
corrosion rates were determined by gravimetric data obtained during the entire study period.
method and expressed as mm year71 and each value
is the mean of triplicate coupons. The size and depth of
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Results
the crevices were measured using a high-resolution
microscope (ASTM 1985b; Metals Handbook 1987). Characteristics of seawater
Digital images of the coupons were obtained before The mean values of seawater quality parameters
and after the removal of fouling and corrosion for the three locations are presented in Table 1.
products after exposure for 12 and 24 months. Among the different parameters, nitrate, silicate and
ammonia were higher at Tuticorin (both in the open
sea and harbour locations) than at Mandapam on a
Seawater analysis statistically significant basis (p 5 0.001). The levels of
Subsurface seawater was collected from the three test copper, cadmium and mercury were also statistically
locations on a quarterly basis during the 24 month higher at Tuticorin compared to Mandapam
study period using a Hydro-Bios (Kiel) water sampler. (p 5 0.001).
Analyses were carried out following the standard
procedures outlined by Strickland and Parsons (1972)
which included general physico-chemical parameters, Fouling characteristics, quantification and biomass
dissolved nutrients and major ions. Heavy metals Fouling at the three tests locations was composed of a
in the water samples were extracted following variety of organisms such as algae, barnacles,

Table 1. Physico-chemical characteristics of the seawater at Tuticorin and Mandapam.

Tuticorin open sea Tuticorin harbour Mandapam

Parameters Mean SD Mean SD Mean SD
Salinity (ppt) 35.00 0.74 34.70 0.32517 34.35 0.2144
pH 8.1 0.113389 7.9 0.10351 8.1 0.133631
Dissolved oxygen (ml l71) 4.85 0.265922 4.40 0.136277 4.20 0.261186
Inorganic phosphate (mmol l71) 0.725 0.074066 0.701 0.058642 0.78 0.086437
Total phosphorous (mmol l71) 3.27 1.195894 2.99 1.019448 6.82 2.349024
Nitrite (mmol l71) 0.017 0.000983 0.016 0.002371 0.013 0.00117
Nitrate (mmol l71) 4.37 0.297 3.75 0.283 2.75 0.415
Silicate (mmol l71) 18.83 2.76 28.37 7.07 12.37 1.38
Ammonia (mmol l71) 2.25 0.134164 2.15 0.262552 1.25 0.260832
Calcium (mg l71) 400 19.8206 400 10.03567 375 20.52873
Magnesium (mg l71) 1275 97.24784 1275 81.19641 1225 87.62746
Copper (mg l71) 2.7 0.47 3.2 0.81 0.2 0.04
Cadmium (mg l71) 1.30 0.217 1.42 0.254 0.95 0.0609
Lead (mg l71) 14 0.7278 21 4.876132 12 3.494281
Iron (mg l71) 54.0 15.928 55.82 13.05469 56.90 5.260092
Manganese (mg l71) 5.50 0.790569 5.47 1.170738 5.72 0.85552
Zinc (mg l71) 1.570 0.5947 1.513 0.158034 1.366 0.206116
Mercury (mg l71) 1.196 0.234379 0.72667 0.110151 0.48333 0.307463
 444 S. Palanichamy et al.

bryozoans, polychaete worms, simple and compound locations, sponge fouling was evident during the 12
ascidians, and oysters. Oysters were particularly month exposure period at Mandapam. The patterns of
dominant at Tuticorin open sea, while barnacles were fouling after 12 and 24 months of exposure are
the major foulants at Tuticorin harbour and Manda- illustrated in Figures 1a and 2a for Tuticorin open
pam. The surfaces of the structural steel coupons sea, Figures 3a and 4a for Tuticorin harbour and
became almost completely covered by a mixture of the Figures 5a and 6a for Mandapam.
fouling communities along with slime after exposure The accumulated biomass on the coupons at the
for 3 months at all three test locations. One notable three test locations over a period of 24 months is
difference among the locations was fouling by oysters; shown in Figure 7. The biomass values at all three test
while these organisms occurred in good number after locations were identical until 9 months exposure.
exposure for 3 months at Tuticorin open sea, they did Thereafter, the biomass remained fairly stable at
not appear until 6 and 9 months exposure at Tuticorin Mandapam, while those at the Tuticorin sites increased
harbour and Mandapam respectively. Further, oyster substantially. The particularly high biomass value after
fouling at Tuticorin (both open sea and harbour) was 18 months exposure at Tuticorin open sea was due to a
contributed mainly by Crassostrea cristagalli, while dense settlement of oysters.
that at Mandapam was represented solely by Crassos-
trea madrasensis. The barnacles Balanus amphitrite and
Balanus reticulatus accounted for a major proportion Corrosion rates and pattern
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of the fouling at Tuticorin harbour and Mandapam, The corrosion rates of the structural steel coupons
while Balanus tintinnabulum additionally occurred at exposed to seawater at the three test locations over a
Tuticorin open sea. Algal fouling was found through- period of 24 months are shown in Figure 8. The rates
out the study period and the number of species of corrosion progressively decreased with immersion
increased with time. The algal fouling was composed time at all three test locations, although the initial rates
predominantly of Ulva lactuca, Caulerpa racemosa and differed among the locations. At the end of the 24
Gracilaria edulis throughout the study period at all test months exposure, the corrosion rate was highest at
locations. Polychaete fouling was not recorded at Mandapam. The mean corrosion rates were signifi-
Tuticorin open sea during the study period, but at cantly different between any two test locations. Thus,
Tuticorin harbour the incidence of polychaete fouling ANOVA values were statistically highly significant
was observed, but only at the 3 and 9 month exposure between Tuticorin open sea and Mandapam (F ¼
periods. On the contrary, at Mandapam, polychaete 104.9, p ¼ 0.000511), Tuticorin harbour and Manda-
fouling was recorded during most of the study periods, pam (F ¼ 35.6, p ¼ 0.0039), and Tuticorin open sea and
except 9 and 24 months. Bryozoan fouling could be Tuticorin harbour (F ¼ 29.9, p ¼ 0.005).
noticed from 9 months exposure at Mandapam, 12 The surface of coupons was characterized by
months exposure at Tuticorin open sea and from 18 etchings and crevices beneath hard foulers resembling
months exposures at Tuticorin harbour. Ascidian the size of the organisms attached. Such attacks are
fouling began to appear from 3 months onwards at illustrated in Figures 1b and 2b for Tuticorin open sea,
Mandapam, from 6 months onwards at Tuticorin Figures 3b and 4b for Tuticorin harbour and Figures
harbour and 9 months onwards at Tuticorin open sea. 5b and 6b for Mandapam. The crevice density and
The occurrence of sponge fouling could be noticed at percentage area of attack with time of immersion at the
12 months exposure only at Mandapam. three test locations are summarized in Figure 9. The
The quantitative fouling community development percentage area of crevice attack was highest at
on structural steel exposed to seawater for 3, 6, 9, 12, Tuticorin open sea, while the crevice density ap-
18 and 24 months is given in Table 2. The numerical proached more or less identical proportion at Tuticor-
density and surface coverage data reveal that oyster in open sea and Tuticorin harbour. The extent of
fouling was dominant at Tuticorin open sea and crevice attack was markedly lower at Mandapam.
barnacle fouling at Tuticorin harbour and Mandapam.
The numerical density of polychaete worms was in the
order: Tuticorin harbour 4 Mandapam 4 Tuticorin Loss in tensile strength of structural steel
open sea, while algal fouling was in the order of The tensile strengths (ultimate tensile strengths) of
Mandapam 4 Tuticorin open sea 4 Tuticorin har- both (1) as received and (2) seawater exposed
bour. Dense fouling by compound ascidian was structural steel, are shown in Figure 10. In general
observed at Mandapam. The maximum density of the percentage loss of tensile strength increased with
bryozoan fouling occurred at Mandapam after ex- time at all the test locations. However, the variations
posure for 9 months, whereas it was sparse at Tuticorin between 12 and 24 months exposure for Mandapam
waters throughout the study period. Among the three and Tuticorin harbour were smaller when compared to
 Biofouling 445

Table 2. Quantification of the fouling community development pattern on structural steel coupons exposed to seawater over a
period of 24 months.

Tuticorin open sea Tuticorin harbour Mandapam

Density Surface Density Surface Density Surface
Period (month) (no. m72 ) coverage (%) (no. m72 ) coverage (%) (no. m72 ) coverage (%)
Barnacles
3 233 20 933 65 1300 60
6 533 20 1167 65 1200 60
9 400 15 1300 85 4000 65
12 933 5 4500 65 1667 20
18 1500 45* 2500 33 1400 40
24 1667 30* 767 40 2333 25
Oysters
3 733 45 – – – –
6 1333 70 267 – – –
9 333 55 – – – –
12 633 80 233 15 267 15
18 1333 95 333 28 133 20
24 667 100 267 28 200 8
Polychaetes
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3 – – 233 5 21 5
6 – – – 5 21 5
9 – – 33 15 – –
12 – 2 – 5 – 5
18 – – – – 2
24 – 2 – 40 – –
Algae (predominantly green)
3 Sparse 15 Sparse 15 Sparse 10
6 Sparse 10 Sparse 15 Sparse 10
9 Sparse 5 – – Sparse 20
12 Sparse 5 – 5 Scattered 20
18 – 50* – – 2
24 – 70* – 10 – 25
Compound ascidians
3 Sparse 20 Sparse 15 Dense 25
6 – – Sparse 15 Dense 25
9 66 25 –– – – –
12 – 4 – 10 – 30
18 – 15* – 20 – 20
24 – 80* – – – 20
Bryozoans
9 – – – – 67 15
12 – 4 – – – 5
18 – 10 – 20 – –
Sponges
12 – – – – – 5

*Secondary foulant.

that of Tuticorin open sea. The loss in the ultimate waters (at both the open sea and harbour locations)
tensile strength of structural steel was 21.65 and can be attributed to the higher nutrient levels such as
23.16% for 12 months and 24 months at Tuticorin nitrite, nitrate, ammonia and silicates. This observa-
open sea, 16.23 and 17.75% for 12 months and 2 tion supports the view of Melchers (2007), who
months at Tuticorin harbour and 14.5 and 15.58% for reported that the rate of marine growth is known to
12 months and 24 months at Mandapam, respectively. be a function of water nutrient content. With
particular reference to Tuticorin, the open sea location
is situated below the offshore platform of CECRI. This
Discussion site adjoins the south breakwater road whose slope is
Biological factors such as marine growth and bacterial reinforced by boulders. During the southwest mon-
activity are strongly influenced by the local environ- soon period (April through October), the site is
ment, which in turn affect the early rate of corrosion characterized by severe wave action which produces
(Melchers 2007). The higher biomass load in Tuticorin turbulence, splashing and swirling. The impact of the
 446 S. Palanichamy et al.
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Figure 2. (a) Fouling development; (b) impact of fouling on

structural steel exposed for 24 months at Tuticorin open sea.
Scale bar ¼ 25 mm on both images.

Figure 1. (a) Fouling development; (b) impact of fouling on

structural steel exposed for 12 months at Tuticorin open sea. favoured the settlement and growth of oysters. Also,
Scale bar ¼ 25 mm on both images.
there is evidence that local pollution can boost the
development of certain groups of macrofouling com-
physical conditions in enhancing oyster fouling has munities (Koryakova et al. 2002). The occurrence of
been discussed earlier by Chellam (1978). Hence, it is the barnacle Balanus tintinnabulum was another cause
presumed that the prevailing conditions would have of the higher biomass in Tuticorin waters. The
 Biofouling 447
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Figure 3. (a) Fouling development; (b) impact of fouling on Figure 4. (a) Fouling development; (b) impact of fouling on
structural steel exposed for 12 months at Tuticorin harbour. structural steel exposed for 24 months at Tuticorin harbour.
Scale bar ¼ 25 mm on both images. Scale bar ¼ 25 mm on both images.

relatively low amount of fouling in Mandapam was study period. This was evident from the biomass load
presumably due to the smaller types of organisms which remained more or less constant between 9 and
occurring in these waters. It must also be added that 24 months exposure (Figure 7). This observation
the broyzoan fouling observed after exposure for 9 supports the view of Sutherland (1976) that bryozoan
months at Mandapam resulted in no further develop- fouling in general inhibits other macrofouling species.
ment in the fouling community up to the end of the Bryozoans are known to produce secondary
 448 S. Palanichamy et al.
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Figure 5. (a) Fouling development; (b) impact of fouling on

structural steel exposed for 12 months at Mandapam. Scale Figure 6. (a) Fouling development; (b) impact of fouling on
bar ¼ 25 mm on both images. structural steel exposed for 24 months at Mandapam. Scale
bar ¼ 25 mm on both images.

metabolites as a defense system (Faulkner 2001) in

respect of competition for space and predation (Palanichamy and Rajendran 2000; Table 1 in the
(Lopanik et al. 2004). In general, the patterns and present study). As fouling developed rapidly on the
characteristics of the fouling recorded in the present exposed surfaces, any effect of the water chemistry
study were in close agreement with the observations by would have been limited to the earliest phase of
earlier investigators in independent studies carried out seawater exposure. Thus, the very high rate of
at Mandapam (Eashwar et al. 1990) and Tuticorin corrosion during the first 3 months at Tuticorin open
(Maruthamuthu et al. 1990) waters. sea was possibly an influence of the water quality. As
The selection of the test locations was based on the rates of corrosion showed a declining trend with
variations in the general water characteristics time at all three test locations, it could be inferred that
 Biofouling 449

Figure 7. The biomass load on structural steel exposed to

seawater at three test locations over a period of 24 months.
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Figure 9. The crevice density and percentage area of attack

with time of immersion at the three test locations.

The rates of corrosion of the structural steel

coupons at the end of the 24-month exposure varied
with the test locations, being highest at Mandapam.
Figure 8. The corrosion rates of structural steel exposed to However, the cumulative rate of corrosion remained
seawater at three test locations over a period of 24 months.
almost unchanged between 9 and 24 months exposure
(Figure 8). Interestingly, the biomass values also
fouling provided a shielding effect from environmental remained unchanged during the exposure period.
factors. The steady decrease in the corrosion rate values Thus, the apparent absence of a shielding effect by
of the structural steel coupons with exposure period and fouling was probably due to periodic detachment of
the concomitant increase in the oyster fouling (with macroorganisms, which resulted in repeated access to
maximum coverage) at Tuticorin open sea implies the the metal surface of environmental influences. Efird
shielding effect of fouling assemblages, which resulted (1976) and Little et al. (2008) have reported that
in a reduction in O2 diffusion and utilization of incomplete coverage by fouling is more likely to cause
available O2 for respiration (Ravindran and Pillai, initiation of localized corrosion by creating oxygen
personal communication; Little et al. 2008). Regres- concentration cells. Although the highest corrosion
sion analysis of the corrosion rate and biomass data rate was recorded at Mandapam, the extent of crevice
for all six exposure periods at the three test locations corrosion was least at this location (Figures 8 and 9).
(18 sets in all) is given in Figure 11. The analysis This probably implies that in the present study the
shows a moderately strong negative correlation general form of corrosion (uniform corrosion) con-
(R ¼ 70.48094), which is statistically significant tributed to a more significant proportion of metal loss
(p ¼ 0.0433). This trend is consistent with the ob- than the localized form of corrosion (crevice
servations by many authors who have conducted corrosion).
long-term tests in the sea (LaQue 1949; Southwell One of the major problems affecting the structural
et al. 1974; Eashwar et al. 1990; Luo 2001; de Brito integrity of steel structures is corrosion fatigue cracks,
et al. 2007). initiated from the randomly distributed pits/crevices
 450 S. Palanichamy et al.

Tuticorin waters, being highest at Tuticorin open sea.

These data imply that localized corrosion beneath
marine fouling organisms can lead to significant loss of
mechanical strength. Therefore, the loss of mechanical
strength from marine fouling should serve as an
important tool in the selection of materials for marine
applications.

Conclusions
The rate of corrosion of structural steel coupons
decreased with the duration of seawater exposure at
all three test locations studied. Thus, the corrosion
rate and biomass data exhibited a statistically
significant negative correlation. The rate of corrosion
over a 24-month exposure period was highest at
Mandapam, where fouling was minimal. Barnacle
Figure 10. Loss in ultimate tensile strength of structural fouling was predominant both at Mandapam and
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steel exposed to natural seawater for 12 and 24 months. Tuticorin harbour, whereas oyster fouling was
predominant at Tuticorin open sea. Oyster fouling
caused crevice corrosion which in turn led to a
considerable loss in the ultimate tensile strength of
the structural steel.

Acknowledgements
The authors wish to thank the Director, the Central
Electrochemical Research Institute, Karaikudi for permis-
sion to communicate the results. The enthusiastic technical
service rendered by Mr P. Ganapathy, Senior Technical
Officer, CECRI Unit, Tuticorin is thankfully acknowl-
edged. The authors also wish to thank the Ministry of
Environment and Forests, New Delhi for financial support
(Project Grant No.19-26/2003-RE), and the three anon-
ymous reviewers are thanked for their valuable comments
and criticisms.

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