Filtern
Dokumenttyp
- Zeitschriftenartikel (3)
- Posterpräsentation (1)
- Forschungsbericht (1)
Schlagworte
- Corrosion (4)
- Gel electrolytes (2)
- Korrosion (2)
- Agar (1)
- Analytical Chemistry (1)
- Atmospheric exposure (1)
- Atmosphärische Korrosion (1)
- Corrosion Testing (1)
- Corrosion product layer (1)
- Deckschichtbildung (1)
Organisationseinheit der BAM
Although zinc and zinc coatings have been widely used for corrosion protection for decades new zinc coatings are constantly being developed. Characterizing the corrosion protectiveness of these new coatings, however, should not be underestimated. While exposure tests are time intensive, cyclic tests can only be used for a very limited field of application. Thus, electrochemical measurements provide both an efficient and an effective alternative. Conventional aqueous bulk electrolytes influence the surface layers of a tested zinc coating and are therefore not reliable. Gel electrolytes, however, have evolved over the last few years, are minimally invasive and provide reliable results.
This work describes experiments with gel electrolytes made of agar. Unlike previous work, it proposes a composition of gel electrolyte for minimally invasive description of the protective power of naturally formed oxide layers on zinc and zinc coatings. Therefore, as a first part, the gel electrolyte made of agar is verified as a method for zinc and zinc-coated samples. Afterwards, this paper introduces the corrosion product layer resistance RL as a promising parameter to evaluate the protective power of zinc coatings. Results are verified with EIS and FTIR measurements. An example on a representative zinc coating demonstrates the practical application.
Determination of the corrosion product layer resistance on zinc samples by using gel electrolytes
(2022)
Crash barriers, railings, lamp posts, waste glass containers - these are just a few of the many examples of galvanized surfaces. They withstand wind and weather for decades, which is possible thanks to a protective layer made of corrosion products. When designing the atmospheric durability of galvanized components, a linear corrosion loss is assumed. In the past 30 years, however, the surrounding atmosphere has changed a lot. Due to the restriction of sulfur exhaust air, acid rain completely disappeared in Europe and Germany, which has a direct influence on the type and protective effect of the corrosion products. Under the influence of current atmospheric conditions, zinc layers are significantly more resistant and no longer show any linear corrosion loss. The established test methods cannot correctly map this change in neither short-term nor long-term tests and thus provide incorrect results. In order to solve this problem, a new measurement method was developed at BAM that can assess the protective effect of the formed surface layers in a minimally invasive manner without damaging the sample and in short test times. For this new method, gel electrolytes are used and the so-called corrosion product layer resistance RL, which is made up of various surface resistances, is measured electrochemically. As a single measurement, the surface layer resistance can provide information about the existing corrosion protection, while time-dependent measurements assess the stability of the layer. Thus, it is possible again to evaluate the corrosion protection layer. Furthermore, this method can also be used for field measurements on real components.
Das Grundproblem der heute verfügbaren und normativ geregelten Prüfverfahren für Zinküberzüge besteht neben den realitätsfernen Prüfbedingungen vor allem in der subjektiv geprägten Auswertung der Prüfergebnisse. Die systematische Betrachtung der Entwicklungen der letzten Jahre zeigt, dass die üblichen Verfahren den aktuellen Anforderungen damit schon vom Ansatz her nicht gerecht werden können und auch die bisher betriebene, fortlaufende Variation und Anpassung von Prüfbedingungen keinen grundlegend neuen Lösungsansatz bieten können. Ein solcher ergibt sich nur, wenn die Zinküberzüge hinsichtlich der kinetischen Eigenschaften der Deckschichtbildung und -auflösung umfassend beschrieben werden können, was nur durch den Einsatz elektrochemischer Untersuchungsmethoden mittels Gelelektrolyten möglich ist.
Aus diesem Grund wurde im Verbundforschungsvorhaben GELELEK auf der Basis elektrochemischer Methoden unter Verwendung eines Gelelektrolyten ein Normenvorschlag für eine Prüfnorm erarbeitet und zur Normungsreife geführt, welcher den Anforderungen an ein Messsystem für Feldanwendungen entspricht.
Im Verbundforschungsvorhaben GELELEK wurde eine gezielte Kombination von Laboruntersuchungen mit Untersuchungen im Feld und Bauteilen unter realen Einsatzbedingungen angestrebt. Randbedingungen für eine gesicherte Messung von atmosphärisch bewitterten Zinküberzügen unter Einsatz von Gelelektrolyten wurden erarbeitet und im Normenvorschlag festgeschrieben. Darüber hinaus wurde ein mobiles Messgerät für Messungen mit Gelelektrolyten an realen Bauteilen entwickelt. Nach Abschluss des Forschungsvorhabens steht Industrievertretern und Prüfinstituten ein wissenschaftlich gesichertes Messverfahren basierend auf Kennwerten zur Verfügung, um Zinküberzüge und deren momentane Schutzwirkung unter praxisrelevanten Bedingungen einschätzen und normativ geregelt prüfen zu können.
Der vorliegende Forschungsbericht gibt einen Überblick über die Motivation zur Durchführung des Forschungsvorhabens, wichtige Arbeitsschritte, Details zur entwickelten Prüfmethode sowie Einsatzmöglichkeiten für Prüfinstitute und Unternehmen.
Agar gel pads have been used for electrochemical measurements for some time. For zinc in particular, a standard method for measuring the stability of the corrosion product layer is being established. The main interpretation factor is the corrosion product layer resistance RL, as it is easy to determine and interpret. A high corrosion product layer resistance indicates a high level of protection. However, it is not yet known how low the corrosion product layer resistance is for freshly produced zinc samples. As zinc is highly active, it reacts immediately with the environment to form a corrosion product layer, which affects the corrosion product layer resistance. The addition of zinc acetate to the agar gel pads prevents the formation of a surface layer and destroys existing ones.
This makes it possible to measure an almost corrosion product-free zinc surface. This is important in defining the range of corrosion product layer resistance for a protective surface.
The corrosion behavior of galvanized steels and zinc components under atmospheric exposure depends mostly on the corrosion product‐based cover layer formation under the prevailing conditions. The use of agar‐based gel electrolytes makes it possible to use electrochemical methods to obtain a characteristic value from these cover layers that describe their current and future protective capacity. It is shown here that different states of galvanized steel can be distinguished very well under laboratory conditions and that this method is also suitable for use under practical conditions. Based on the characteristic values and assuming future time of wetness, it is very easy to draw up a forecast for the future corrosion rate, which provides plausible values.
