Appendix A 



GUIDELINES* FOR INSPECTION OF STRUCTURES RECOVERED FROM THE SEA 

 (Revised October 1973) 



I. Initial Inspection 



The structure should be inspected as soon as possible after recovery. 

 This is important because of the effect of air on the appearance of the 

 structure, especially the corrosion products and biological growth. The 

 items of major interest during this phase of the inspection are the 

 amount, appearance, and distribution of biological growth and corrosion 

 products, the condition of protective coatings, and the overall external 

 condition of the structure. Samples of biological growth and corrosion- 

 products should be taken at this stage of the inspection and preserved 

 as indicated in section IV below. As the pace of the inspection at this 

 stage should be fairly rapid it is preferable that the sampling be 

 performed by assistants at the direction of the inspector. 



Documentation at this stage of the inspection is both difficult and 

 vitally important. Visual observations should be recorded in writing or 

 on tape. Careful attention must be given to the location of the areas 

 inspected in order to properly interpret the observations. Photographs 

 should be taken at this stage by the inspector or at his direction. 

 Overall and closeup color photographs should be taken and, if practical, 

 also black and white photographs. The locations of the areas photographed, 

 especially the closeups, should be carefully identified and recorded. 



After the initial inspection, sampling, and photographing of the 

 structure are complete, the structure should be carefully rinsed with 

 fresh water. 



II. Detailed Inspection 



This stage of the inspection can be performed at a more deliberate 

 pace than the initial stage, as the appearance of corrosion products and 

 biological growth is not as important at this stage. The primary objective 

 of this inspection is the discovery of hidden damage, the identification 

 of the type of the attack, and an assessment of the extent of damage to 

 the structure by corrosion or other causes. Hidden attack is most often 

 discovered by disassembly of the structure. Crevice corrosion can often 

 be located by bleeding of corrosion products from crevice areas. The 

 type of attack can often be identified by inspection (uniform attack, 

 pitting, crevice corrosion, etc). However, some forms of attack must be 

 verified by laboratory analysis (intergranular attack, stress corrosion 

 cracking, hydrogen embrittlement, etc). The assessment of the extent of 



These guidelines have been superseded by those in Appendix B. 



10 



