Incorporating sustainability issues into an undergraduate corrosion course

Abstract

Sustainability issues were introduced into an undergraduate corrosion course by means of special assignments and case studies. There are actually two courses; an undergraduate course called Corrosion Engineering, ME 349 and a graduate course called Corrosion, ME 387Q and they are taught together. In addition to the traditional types of assignments that focus on forms of corrosion and methods of testing for and mitigating corrosion, the course was redesigned to bring sustainability issues to the forefront; specifically with respect to undergraduate education. Much attention was paid to topics in the news and in recent journal articles and a special section was added on corrosion issues associated with clean energy technologies. Two case studies were also discussed; one in which a waste material, fly ash was added to concrete to improve its durability and another in which corroded pipes were used in low load-bearing architectural/structural applications. A section on Materials Selection was introduced at the beginning of the course and then revisited near the end of the course; this time taking into account sustainability issues. A major focus was whether the choices should be changed or modified in order to address sustainability. These types of topics will be discussed in the paper, with emphasis on creating awareness about sustainability issues in every aspect of corrosion protection. © 2012 American Society for Engineering Education.