Sniffing Out Corrosion: RCNDE Research Featured in Materials World
Sniffing Out Corrosion: RCNDE Research Featured in Materials World
Innovative research supported by RCNDE is helping explore new ways to detect corrosion in critical industrial infrastructure, with potential applications across the nuclear sector and beyond.
An article published in Materials World, the magazine of the Institute of Materials, Minerals & Mining (IOM3), highlights advances in non-destructive evaluation (NDE) technologies for detecting and monitoring corrosion in challenging industrial environments.
Entitled Pit Stop: Under the Skin of Corrosion in the Nuclear Sector, the article was written by Pat Liddicott, former RCNDE Director and Management Board member, and explores how emerging inspection technologies could help address some of the nuclear industry’s most demanding asset integrity challenges.
Can we detect corrosion by its smell?
Among the innovations featured is research led by the University of Warwick, supported by RCNDE industrial members, investigating whether corrosion can be detected through the gases and odours released as materials degrade.
The EPSRC-funded project, Sniffing Out Rust in Critical Industrial Areas, explores the development of an electronic nose (e-nose) capable of identifying corrosion beneath coatings and insulation, where conventional inspection techniques can be difficult or costly to deploy.
The research, involving Ines Carotti and Professor James Covington at the University of Warwick, investigates whether different materials and corrosion processes produce distinctive chemical signatures that can be detected using sensors.
Such technology could eventually provide a new approach to monitoring critical infrastructure, potentially enabling remote corrosion detection using robotic platforms or drones, particularly in hazardous or hard-to-access environments.
Connecting research with industrial challenges
The article also highlights RCNDE’s role in bringing together universities and industrial partners to develop innovative NDE technologies that respond to real-world inspection challenges.
Corrosion detection is a shared priority across multiple sectors, including nuclear, energy, petrochemical and manufacturing. By supporting collaborative research, RCNDE helps accelerate the development of technologies with the potential to improve asset reliability, reduce inspection costs and enhance safety.
The University of Warwick research provides an example of how RCNDE’s collaborative model can support innovative approaches to longstanding industrial challenges, creating opportunities for technologies to be applied across different sectors.
Read the full article
The Materials World feature provides a wider perspective on corrosion challenges in the nuclear industry and examines emerging inspection technologies, including advanced ultrasonics, electromagnetic acoustic transducers and remote sensing.
We would like to thank Pat Liddicott for highlighting RCNDE and the University of Warwick research, and IOM3 for making the article freely accessible to the wider NDE community.
Read the full article: Pit Stop – Materials World (IOM3)
Originally published in Materials World, 21 July 2026. Author: Pat Liddicott CEng FIMMM. Reproduced here as an introduction with permission to link to the original IOM3 publication.
