This article was originally published with the title "The Preservation of Iron" in Scientific American 21, 18, October Already a subscriber? Sign in. Thanks for reading Scientific American. Create your free account or Sign in to continue.
See Subscription Options. Go Paperless with Digital. Get smart. Sign up for our email newsletter. Sign Up. Support science journalism. The presence of the paint creates a barrier between the iron and its surrounding environment. Using wrought iron instead of pure iron can also protect against rusting.
With that said, pure iron, wrought iron and cast iron can all rust when exposed to moisture or air. Fluid-filled hoses are often connected to machinery with a clamp. In a typical car or truck, for Facing is a common machining process that involves the use of a lathe or milling machine to remove We use cookies to improve your experience. By your continued use of this site you accept such use. For more information, please see our privacy policy. Want to read the latest news from Monroe Engineering?
Click Here. Skip to content. Get a Quote. Paint Coating. Rusting can be prevented by many methods. One method is to keep iron for corrosion by paint it. The layers of paint resist oxygen and water to form rust on the surface of iron as paint prevent iron to contact them directly. The iron is protected from corrosion as long as the paint is there.
Oil-based paints are hassle-free and the most highly recommended. Alternatively, rusting can be prevented by thermoplastic or a thermoset polymer powder coating on the iron surface. Powder coating is considered superior to paint as it gives a thicker protective layer. Spraying of a dry, organic powder onto the iron surface and heating the iron to the melting point of the powder.
Once melted, the powder creates an even layer over the iron surface. Common materials used for powder coating include vinyl, polyester, nylon, acrylic, urethane, and epoxy-based organic materials. Iron alloys. Other strategies include iron alloying with other metals. For an example, stainless steel is mostly made up of iron with a little amount of chromium. In a different strategy iron is galvanized or zinc-plated. Zinc has a lower reduction potential which enable it to oxidize more easily than iron.
Zinc is a more active metal. This process is known as Galvanization. The metal iron is covered with another metal such as zinc to form a protective layer. Galvanization can be done in two ways:. Hot-dip galvanization: that involves dipping the iron into a very hot bath of melted zinc. Electro-galvanization: that involves using zinc metal as an anode, iron as the cathode and passing electricity through a zinc solution to apply an even coating of zinc on the iron surface.
Electro-galvanization is the preferred method of galvanization today as it produces an even coating, unlike hot-dip method. Cathodic Protection.
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