Atmospheric corrosion testing

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 1937
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 100 KB
• Volume: 223
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0016-0032
• DOI: 10.1016/s0016-0032(37)91918-5

✦ Synopsis

Metallurgists have long been "corrosion-conscious" and this state of mind is rapidly extending to metal users in general. Methods for determining the corrodibility of metals vary greatly, and uniformity in testing of this kind is greatly to be desired. With this thought in mind, the American Society for Testing Materials, through its corrosion committees, arranged for a discussion of the subject at its annual meeting last month. As a contribution toward this symposium, H. S. Rawdon, chief of the Bureau's Metallurgical Division, presented a paper on atmospheric corrosion testing. Such testing is of vital concern to the manufacturers of paints, lacquers and coating materials in general as well as to the metal users, particularly those of sheet metal. The marked trend toward the architectural use of metals for both decorative and structural purposes, as well as the increased use of metal in trains, automobiles, and aircraft, have served to emphasize the importance of atmospheric corrosion testing.. In Mr. Rawdon's paper, the various methods of carrying out tests of this kind were critically reviewed. Some of the outstanding points in this r~sum6 are as follows:

Laboratory tests are usually carried out for a specific purpose. Their indications with respect to the serviceability of any material should be confirmed by field tests, which latter, however, are not always to be regarded as identical with service.

The results of atmospheric field exposure tests should always be correlated with the prevailing atmospheric conditions at the test location. It is not uncommon that conclusions based on results obtained at one location are wholly inapplicable under other conditions. The prevailing atmospheric conditions obtaining at any test site, particularly the * Communicated by the Director.