Copper and its alloys have been utilized for more than 10,000 years. Today, copper is one of the most commonly used metals in the world; 24 million tons are consumed worldwide. A wide variety of copper alloys are used in a range of applications. As well as good mechanical properties, the excellent electrical conductivity and thermal conduction are reasons copper alloys are deployed in many industrial fields. Copper plays a role in electronic and electrical applications and all forms of heat transfer. In automobiles as well as in houses copper could not be replaced. In the sanitary industry copper and brass are well established, for example, drinking water pipes have been used for decades without problems. While the corrosion resistance of copper and its alloys is excellent in unpolluted air and drinking water, corrosion rates in impure environments can be much higher and lead to severe material damage. Corrosion is a system property, so it is important to find the right copper material with regard to the environmental conditions it will be exposed to. This handbook highlights the limitations of the use of copper and its alloys in various corrosive solutions and provides vital information on corrosion protection measures.

Michael Schütze, born in 1952, studied materials sciences at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg from 1972 to 1978, and then joined the Karl Winnacker Institute of DECHEMA as a research associate. He received his doctorate in engineering sciences from the Technical University of Aachen (RWTH) in 1983, and his lecturing qualifi cation in 1991, becoming a member of the external teaching staff of the RWTH, where he has held a professorship since 1998 and has been director of the Karl Winnacker Institute since 1996. He is a recipient of the Friedrich Wilhelm Prize, the Rahmel Schwenk Medal and the Cavallaro Medal, a past chairman of the Gordon Research Conference on Corrosion, editor of the journal Materials and Corrosion, past president of the European Federation of Corrosion, and of the World Corrosion Organization, as well as chairman of the Working Party Corrosion by Hot Gases and Combustion Products of the European Federation of Corrosion. Ralf Feser, born in 1960, studied materials sciences at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg from 1980 to 1986, and then joined the Max-Planck Institute for Iron Research in Düsseldorf. He received his doctorate in engineering sciences from the University of Clausthal-Zellerfeld in 1990, after which he worked for several years at the Metallgesellschaft. In 1996 he was appointed professor for corrosion technology at the University of Applied Sciences in Iserlohn, a position he still holds. Since 2005 he has also been one of the CEOs at the Institute for Maintenance and Corrosion Protection in Iserlohn, a board member at the Society for Corrosion Protection (GfKORR) and convenor of the working party on "corrosion and corrosion protection of copper alloys". Professor Feser is also head of the research board at the Hot Dip Galvanizing Organisation, and a member of several other organisations dealing with corrosion on a national or international level. Roman Bender, born in 1971, studied chemistry at the Justus Liebig University of Giessen from 1992 to 1997. He received his doctorate in natural sciences from the Technical University of Aachen (RWTH Aachen) in 2001. After receiving his diploma he joined the Karl Winnacker Institute of the DECHEMA in Frankfurt (Main) as a research associate, where he has been head of the materials and corrosion group since 2000, and editor-in-chief of the world's largest corrosion data collection, the DECHEMA Werkstofftabelle and the Corrosion Handbook. In 2008 Dr. Bender was appointed CEO of the GfKORR - the Society for Corrosion Protection.

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