Aluminum Water Tank Corrosion

Water not only causes the tank to corrode it also causes the corrosion particles to clog fuel filters fuel systems and damage engine components.

Aluminum water tank corrosion. Transverse bulkheads and deckhead bottom. Bill you have done well to get twenty years of service from your aluminum water tanks. 55 of these problems involved removing permanent structures to access below deck fuel tanks. The protective oxide film of aluminum is only stable in a ph range of 4 5 8 5.

Chloride which is a. Fatigue fractures were mostly. Most of the corrosion failures were due to corrosion on the bottom of the tanks. Although coatings may be used to interrupt this type of process and help to prevent corrosion.

Aluminum corrosion could however be a serious issue. If they are now developing leaks here are two options to get tanks which do not leak. 92 of reported failures were due to corrosion. A strong electrolyte is formed by stored water that creates a type of vehicle for ion transfers as well as current flow in the steels micro structure.

Inside of the water tank the corrosion control approach will be different. However many process solutions intentionally exceed this ph range for the purpose of cleaning metal removal and subsequent smut removal. Aluminum corrosion is commonly encountered when performing chemical process operations involving surface finishing predominantly in preparation for paint application. Some of the most common causes of tank failure include.

The first would be to cut the tops out of the old aluminum tanks clean up the corrosion as best you can and then line the tanks with 1 2 polyethylene plastic on all six sides. When there is a high dielectric strength the coating will restrict the. If there s any possibility of it happening you have two options. Brackets and stiffeners were found partly corroded through as shown in figures 1 and 2.

However rauch et al. The accumulated water inside fuel tanks building with aa 2024 t3 induces the growth of microorganisms and may lead to microbiologically induced corrosion mic of these tank structures. The rate and severity of tank corrosion are highly influenced by several factors including environmental conditions the tank s construction joints insulation etc the length of exposure of unprotected steel to moisture chemical properties of the moisture and undesirable temperature ranges. The repairs ranged any where from a few hours to several months.

During an owner s annual inspection serious corrosion attacks were found in integrated aluminium fresh water tanks which required extensive repair. Fuel tanks are a prime example preventing aluminum corrosion. This can be a problem in boats where brass fittings are close to or even in contact with aluminum. The corrosion rate can be accelerated under a number of conditions if other contaminating metals are present such as copper which may be picked up from brass fittings or as a low level contaminant in the aluminum alloy.

In the past jet fuel contaminants have been reported to include a diverse group of bacteria and fungi with the most common contaminant being the fungus hormoconis resinae.