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ACA CORROSION & PREVENTION 2017, SYDNEY

By James Edy

The annual Australasian Corrosion Association (ACA) Corrosion & Prevention 2017 meeting took place over 12th-15th November 2017 at the ICC centre in Darling Harbour, Sydney. The 4-day conference saw over 500 world experts on corrosion mitigation from industries such as; water, defence, mining, oil & gas, cathodic protection and power, gather to share information and network with each other. Corrosion & Prevention 2017 comprised a program of keynote presentations and technical papers concerning a variety of industry streams including steel, non-ferrous, coated structures, concrete and cathodic protection, integrated with an exhibition which showcased the products of the corrosion mitigation industry.

Attending Corrosion & Prevention from Swansea University were EngD students; James Edy (TATA Steel Packaging) and Alex Nielsen (Royal Mint) and Dr Patrick Dodds (Hexigone Inhibitors Ltd). The research presented here included chromate-free inhibitors, trivalent chromium passivation coatings for steel and the atmospheric corrosion of brass. Our research attracted a good degree of interest from the audience with plenty of questions and discussion. Attending talks from other research streams was useful as it expanded our corrosion knowledge into other fields less familiar to us at Swansea.

Outside the talks, the social events and breaks during the day allowed time to network with delegates from other academic institutions and industries. In fact, the conference provided an excellent opportunity to promote the research activities of the Materials Research Centre at Swansea including the commercial activities of SPECIFIC and Hexigone.

Sydney was a fantastic venue for the conference and we all feel very grateful to having been given this incredible privilege to attend ACA Corrosion & Prevention 2017. Finally, we would all like to express a big thank you to the M2A program, Swansea University, and all our industrial partners for this opportunity.

Materials and Manufacturing Academy (M2A) provides industry led postgraduate research training based at Swansea University's new Bay Campus. M2A is part funded by the European Social Fund through the Welsh Government.