T. David Burleigh, PhD & PE

(Professor, Physical Metallurgist, Professional Engineer, and Corrosion Specialist.)

Materials and Metallurgical Engineering Department
New Mexico Tech, Socorro, NM 87801 USA

Telephone: (575) 835-5831, Fax: (575) 835-5626

Email: burleigh(at)nmt.edu

Course Syllabi

ES 201, Statics, Summer 2011

MATE 560, Failure Analysis, Fall 2011

MATE 202, Materials Engineering I, Fall 2011

METE 327, Physical Metallurgy, Spring 2012

MATE 599, Electrochemical Techniques & Processes, Spring 2012



"Brown Nails" by Amanda Kuker, Sara Waters and Kat Mireles, of the New Mexico Tech Materials Advantage Chapter. This new hit song describes the pain and the heartbreak of corrosion. In June 2011, the ASM Foundation selected this song to be a Materials Radio Podcast.   BrownNails.mp3
Dr. Burleigh is a Professor of Materials and Metallurgical Engineering at New Mexico Tech. He is specializes in the corrosion of metals and in metallurgical failure analysis. Dr. Burleigh has taught a variety of courses at New Mexico Tech, and the most recent ones are listed above. In his corrosion research laboratory, the students work on several corrosion research projects, including the corrosion of copper alloys and the anodization of steel. Dr. Burleigh is a certified "Corrosion Specialist" by NACE International, and a registered "Professional Engineer in Metallurgy," in New Mexico. He completed his Ph.D. in Metallurgy at M.I.T. in 1985 conducting research in the Uhlig Corrosion Lab. He continued research in photoelectrochemistry and passivity at the Fritz-Haber-Institut (Max-Planck-Institute for Physical Chemistry) in West Berlin, West Germany. Dr. Burleigh worked in the corrosion group at Alcoa Technical Center for over five years designing alloys, corrosion tests, and testing products. Since 1993 he has been the principal investigator for Burleigh Corrosion Consultants (www.corrosionhelp.com), where he solves corrosion problems for small and large businesses. Prior to coming to New Mexico Tech, he was a Research Associate Professor at the Materials Science and Engineering Dept. at the University of Pittsburgh where he taught and also conducted research in aqueous corrosion.

Dr. Burleigh's curriculum vitae, and his list of publications.

Figures from some of Dr. Burleigh's publications:


Figure 1: 1010 steel sheet anodized in one minute steps. From Burleigh et al, "Anodizing Steel in KOH and NaOH Solutions," Journal of the Electrochemical Society, 154, 10, p. C579-586 (JECS_2007.pdf). For more information, see also www.steelanodize.com and JECS_2009.pdf.
Figure 2: Eighteen tuning forks machined from seventeen different alloys and one polymer, are used as classroom demos. Each fork has its own unique resonant pitch and harmonics, dampening, weight, color and stiffnesss. A two-page article has been published entitled, "Tuning Forks for Vibrant Teaching." Journal of Metals (2005), 57, 11, 26-27. (TuningJOM2005.pdf) It may aslo be found on the Journal of Metals website.
(Gibeon meteorite) Figure 3: The polished, etched and heat-tinted face of the Gibeon Meteorite shows a crystal pattern denoting a cooling rate of 1 C per million years (from the Materials and Metallurgical Engineering Department Brochure).
Figure 4: A schematic of the photoelectrochemical apparatus used for measuring photocurrents and photovoltages on metals immersed in a liquid. J.R. Birch and T.D. Burleigh, "Oxides Formed on Titanium by Polishing, Etching, Anodizing, or Thermal Oxidizing," Corrosion (2000), 56, 12, 1233-1241. (BirchBurleigh2000.pdf)
Figure 5: The photocurrents are result from light exciting electrons in the oxide film, in the presence of a Schottky barrier. The electrons are excited from the valence band (V.B.) to the conduction band (C.B.) where they flow down hill under the influence of the electric field. The electric field is a result of the mismatch of the Fermi levels of the electrolyte and the metal. J.R. Birch and T.D. Burleigh, "Oxides Formed on Titanium by Polishing, Etching, Anodizing, or Thermal Oxidizing," Corrosion (2000), 56, 12, 1233-1241. (BirchBurleigh2000.pdf)

Figure 6: The photocurrents may be used to identify the crystal structure of the titanium oxide since the different oxides have different bandgaps. J.R. Birch and T.D. Burleigh, "Oxides Formed on Titanium by Polishing, Etching, Anodizing, or Thermal Oxidizing," Corrosion (2000), 56, 12, 1233-1241. (BirchBurleigh2000.pdf)
Figure 7: The active-passive transition of may be modeled as a semiconductor film that becomes degenerate at high or low potentials. During degeneracy, the conduction or valence bands bend across the Fermi level and the oxide becomes an electric conductor. from T.D. Burleigh, "Anodic Photocurrents and Corrosion Currents on Passive and Active-Passive Metals," Corrosion (1989), 45, 6, 464-471 (Corrosion1989.pdf)
Figure 8: The tarnishing of silver requires an atmosphere containing hydrogen sulfide, oxygen and water vapor. A electrochemical mechanism is proposed for the tarnishing of silver. T.D. Burleigh, Y. Gu, G. Donahey, M. Vida, D.H. Waldeck, “Tarnish Protection of Silver using a Hexadecanethiol Self-Assembled Monolayer and Descriptions of Accelerated Tarnish Tests,” Corrosion (2001), 57, 12, 1066-1074. (BurleighWaldeck2001.pdf)
Figure 9: The electrochemical corrosion of steel under a drop of water. At the anode, the iron dissolution releases electrons, which travel through the metal to the cathode, where the electrons react with oxygen and water to form hydroxyls (OH-). The presence of salt stabilizes the acidic anode and the caustic cathode by the migration of Na+ to the cathode and Cl- ions to the anode. The Fe++ cations combine with water to form H+ cations and also precipitate the red rust. (from T.D. Burleigh's class notes, "Corrosion Phenomena.")
Figure 10: A corrosion chimney forms above the corroding pit on aluminum corroding in saltwater. T.D. Burleigh, E. Ludwiczak, and R.A. Petri, "Intergranular Corrosion of an Al-Mg-Si-Cu Alloy," Corrosion (1995), 51, 1, 50-55. (Corrosion1995.pdf)

Figure 11: Silver may be protected from tarnishing by a self-assembled monolayer (SAM) of hexadecanethiol. The SAM is prepared by cleaning, etching, rinsing, then immersion in a thiol solution for a certain time period. Too short of time leads to an incomplete film, and too long of time leads to pinhole corrosion. Figure 10b from T.D. Burleigh, Y. Gu, G. Donahey, M. Vida, D.H. Waldeck, “Tarnish Protection of Silver using a Hexadecanethiol Self-Assembled Monolayer and Descriptions of Accelerated Tarnish Tests,” Corrosion (2001), 57, 12, 1066-1074. (BurleighWaldeck2001.pdf)
Figure 12: Zinc corrodes faster under UV illumination. E.A. Thompson and T.D. Burleigh, "Accelerated Corrosion of Zinc Alloys Exposed to Ultraviolet Light," Corrosion Engineering, Science and Technology (2007), 42, 3, p. 237-241. (Zinc&UV_2007.pdf).
Figure 13: A corrosion resistant Mg-Li alloy is made by alloying with scandium. T.D. Burleigh, R.K. Wyss, "Dual Phase Magnesium Based Alloy having Improved Properties," U.S. Patent No. 5,059,390 (October 22, 1991). (MgLiSc.pdf)
Figure 13: Improvement in the erosion corrosion resistance of Cu-10%Ni was achieved by adding indium. T.D. Burleigh and D.H. Waldeck, "Effect of Alloying on the Resistance of Cu-10% Ni Alloys to Seawater Impingement," Corrosion (1999), 55, 8, 800-804. (Corrosion1999.pdf)

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