Dear Colleagues,

As we all know, corrosion is the main cause of deterioration in metal structures and devices due to interactions with the environment. Many efforts have been made to counteract corrosion since the 1970s, as it was determined that the amount of corrosion-related damage was approximately a few gross domestic product (GPD) points. Nowadays, the impact of corrosion damage seems to be as high as it was 40 years ago, despite innovations in material protection and corrosion prevention strategies. In addition, in recent years, the theme of sustainability has become more prominent,  and industry is now facing new challenges to maintain production levels and reduce emissions. Words such as hydrogen economy, green building, LCCA, carbon footprint, circular economy, waste reduction, recycling, and reuse are now part of the business, and all these words are strictly related to material durability as a key factor to prolong the service life of assets, thus decreasing raw material consumption and natural resource exploitation. In this view, substantial importance must be devoted to improving material selection strategies, design solutions, passive and active protection (inhibitor, coating, and cathodic protection), and environmental mitigation solutions.

In addition, in recent years, material composition and microstructures have changed significantly to fulfill even more demanding applications. Among the most relevant topics, we can cite studies on high-entropy alloys, ultra-fine grained metals, additive manufactured metals, and innovative joining technologies (i.e., friction stir welding, innovative coatings based on nano additions, inhibitors, self-healing compounds) to further increase barrier performance and environmentally friendly corrosion inhibitors. From this point of view, there is a strong need to further improve knowledge on corrosion mechanisms and on the corrosion protection and prevention of metallic materials.

This Special Issue aims to provide a 360-degree panorama of the more recent findings in the field of corrosion and in the corrosion protection and prevention of both traditional and innovative materials in natural environments or in the industrial sector. Traditional weight loss and accelerated tests, electrochemical tests, local corrosion techniques (electrochemical microcells, SKPFM, etc..), environmentally assisted cracking assessment, and failure analysis are only a few examples of the topics that this Special Issue intends to address. Full papers, communications, and reviews are all welcome.

Prof. Dr. Tommaso Pastore
Prof. Dr. Sergio Lorenzi
Guest Editors

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• corrosion and protection of metals
• cathodic protection
• corrosion of rebars
• corrosion engineering
• failure analysis
• reinforcement corrosion
• electrochemical techniques for corrosion protection and prevention of metal structures
• environmentally assisted cracking of high-strength steels
• corrosion in drinking water and energy production plants
• cathodic protection design based on numerical simulation