French Activity on High Temperature Corrosion in Water Vapor

Increased clarity in our understanding of water vapor effects on oxidation is resulting from our recognition that multiple mechanisms are possible, and that distinctions must be drawn between situations where, on the one hand, molecular oxygen accompanies water vapor, and on the other, it does not, and instead free hydrogen can be present. It is a pleasure to welcome the contributions of this new book to this important field. Whilst the existence of a substantial French research effort in the area has been well known, the scale and extent of the effort comes as something of a surprise. The reason for this is apparent in the reference lists provided at the end of each chapter: much of the work is simply not available in the readily accessed literature. The book performs an important service in bringing these results to the attention of the wider research community. Overall, the book succeeds well in its aim of presenting an integrated view of water vapor effects on high temperature corrosion. Its organization into chapters concerned with different alloy classes is appealing, and the contents should prove useful to many readers.