Marinisation (also marinization) is design, redesign, or testing of products for use in a marine environment. Most commonly, it refers to use and long-term survival in harsh, highly

corrosive Corrosion is a natural process that converts a refined metal into a more chemically stable oxide. It is the gradual deterioration of materials (usually a metal) by chemical or electrochemical reaction with their environment. Corrosion engine ...

salt water conditions. Marinisation is done by many manufacturing industries worldwide including many military organisations, especially navies. In some instances, cost is not a guiding force, and items may be designed from scratch with entirely non-corrosive components engineered and assembled to resist the effects of vibration and constantly changing

attitude Attitude or Attitude may refer to: Philosophy and psychology * Attitude (psychology), a disposition or state of mind ** Attitude change * Propositional attitude, a mental state held towards a proposition Science and technology * Orientation ...

. In others, particularly in "marinising" an existing product that was not designed specifically for a marine environment for sale in the public marketplace, a balance must be found between the competing criteria. There are three main factors that need to be considered for a product to be truly marinised. * Resistance to

corrosion Corrosion is a natural process that converts a refined metal into a more chemically stable oxide. It is the gradual deterioration of materials (usually a metal) by chemical or electrochemical reaction with their environment. Corrosion engine ...

. * Resistance to

vibration Vibration () is a mechanical phenomenon whereby oscillations occur about an equilibrium point. Vibration may be deterministic if the oscillations can be characterised precisely (e.g. the periodic motion of a pendulum), or random if the os ...

. * Ability to function properly in conditions of constantly changing

(an object's ''orientation'' about its center of gravity).

Examples

Metals

Marinised metals include some of the following: * Non-corrosive

alloy An alloy is a mixture of chemical elements of which in most cases at least one is a metal, metallic element, although it is also sometimes used for mixtures of elements; herein only metallic alloys are described. Metallic alloys often have prop ...

s that resist or are impervious to salt-water corrosion, e.g. 316 marine grade

stainless steel Stainless steel, also known as inox, corrosion-resistant steel (CRES), or rustless steel, is an iron-based alloy that contains chromium, making it resistant to rust and corrosion. Stainless steel's resistance to corrosion comes from its chromi ...

;

brass Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc, in proportions which can be varied to achieve different colours and mechanical, electrical, acoustic and chemical properties, but copper typically has the larger proportion, generally copper and zinc. I ...

(an alloy of

copper Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orang ...

and

zinc Zinc is a chemical element; it has symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodic tabl ...

), or

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals (such as phosphorus) or metalloid ...

(which contains copper with

tin Tin is a chemical element; it has symbol Sn () and atomic number 50. A silvery-colored metal, tin is soft enough to be cut with little force, and a bar of tin can be bent by hand with little effort. When bent, a bar of tin makes a sound, the ...

in place of zinc). :The adjectival phrase "marine grade" being used when the above alloys have all impurities removed and are suitable for exposure to a marine environment. * Metals electroplated or dipped in a corrosion-resistant material, e.g.

galvanised steel Hot-dip galvanization is a form of galvanization. It is the process of coating iron and steel with zinc, which alloys with the surface of the base metal when immersing the metal in a bath of molten zinc at a temperature of around . When expos ...

* Metals painted with special anti rust or anti corrosion coatings * Plastic coated metals

Electronics

Marinised

electronics Electronics is a scientific and engineering discipline that studies and applies the principles of physics to design, create, and operate devices that manipulate electrons and other Electric charge, electrically charged particles. It is a subfield ...

use one or more of the following protection methods. In most cases more than one method is used: * Coating by a spray or dipping to protect from salt air and water. * Full encapsulation in some form of resin or gel. * Specialised mounting of internal parts for vibration protection. * Use of specialised corrosion resistant solder and corrosion resistant metals.

Batteries

Marinised batteries are usually

gel batteries A gel is a semi-solid that can have properties ranging from soft and weak to hard and tough. Gels are defined as a substantially dilute cross-linked system, which exhibits no flow when in the steady state, although the liquid phase may still d ...

or sealed maintenance-free batteries. Not using marinised batteries in salt water can be deadly in an enclosed environment for many reasons: #

Sulfuric acid Sulfuric acid (American spelling and the preferred IUPAC name) or sulphuric acid (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth spelling), known in antiquity as oil of vitriol, is a mineral acid composed of the elements sulfur, oxygen, ...

and salt water react to generate dangerous

hydrogen chloride The Chemical compound, compound hydrogen chloride has the chemical formula and as such is a hydrogen halide. At room temperature, it is a colorless gas, which forms white fumes of hydrochloric acid upon contact with atmospheric water vapor. Hyd ...

gas, necessitating the use of valve-regulated maintenance-free sealed batteries. # The battery must have stronger plates and separators to withstand constant vibrations and impacts caused by large waves striking the hull. Plate collapse can cause short-circuits and electrical fires or explosions. # A marine battery must function at any angle due to the changing attitude of the vessel it is mounted in. Gel

VRLA A valve regulated lead‐acid (VRLA) battery, commonly known as a sealed lead-acid (SLA) battery, is a type of lead-acid battery characterized by a limited amount of electrolyte ("starved" electrolyte) absorbed in a plate separator or formed into ...

batteries are best for this purpose.

References

{{Navy-stub

Examples

Metals

Electronics

Batteries

See also

References