Atmospheric corrosion of zinc Part 1: Rural and urban atmospheres

Abstract This paper summarises the results obtianed in the MICAT (Mapa Ibero-Americano de Corrosão Atmosférica (Latin American Map of Atmospheric Corrosion)) atmospheric corrosion project (an Iberoamerican project on atmospheric corrosion, involving 14 countries and 75 atmospheric test sites) for zinc specimens exposed for 1–4 years in 21 rural and urban atmospheres of the Latin American region. During the study, all of these atmospheres were characterised according to international standards. Complementary morphological and chemical studies were carried out using scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive spectrometry (SEM–EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) techniques, in order to correlate atmospheric characteristics and the properties of zinc corrosion product layers (ZCPLs). Soluble salts retained in these ZCPLs were also determined. The study has provided clear evidence about the wide range of zinc corrosion rates occurring in rural atmospheres and suggests an interpretation of this behaviour.