Erosion–corrosion falls into a broad category of tribocorrosion
processes which include abrasion-corrosion
and cavitation-corrosion as examples. These are not specific
forms of corrosion but are degradation processes,
which involve the action of a mechanical process (e.g.
an impact of a solid particle) in conjunction with an electrochemical
corrosion process. The importance of erosion–corrosion
in terms of the costs incurred in industry
due to premature material failures was demonstrated in
the recent review of corrosion costs by McIntyre [1].
Erosion–corrosion was ranked as the fifth most
important degradation mechanism in the offshore and
chemical sectors.