Ingenieurwissenschaften und zugeordnete Tätigkeiten
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.
The present work describes the combination of electrochemical investigations by using a gel‐type electrolyte with Fourier‐transformed infrared spectroscopy to investigate partially extremely thin corrosion product films on titanium‐zinc. The gel pad method enables the determination of corrosion relevant parameters such as the potential and the linear polarization resistance without altering the corrosion product layers, which are extremely prone to re‐dissolution when freshly formed. Complementary infrared spectroscopy enables the determination of main compounds of even very thin surface layers of few tenth of nanometers with a certain lateral resolution. It was found that zinc forms mostly zinc carboxy‐hydroxides such as hydrozincite, under various exposure conditions. The protective properties of these hydrozincite layers depend on the structure of the corrosion product film rather than on its thickness. In mid‐term exposure tests, shallow corrosion pits were found even in the absence of corrosive agents such as chloride.
A new approach to the assessment of the corrosion behaviour of zinc coatings under atmospheric conditions can be achieved using gel-type electrolytes as an alternative to standard aqueous test electrolytes. Gel-type electrolytes allow minimally invasive corrosion investigations on zinc coatings. They also provide the possibility to carry out corrosion investigations onsite. By using gel-type electrolytes corrosion-relevant characteristic values such as corrosion currents and polarization resistances can be determined. These allow to describe the formation and the stability of the formed corrosion product layers under various climatic conditions. With this knowledge, a prediction of the zinc coating life cycle is possible. In this contribution, the value of gel-type electrolytes for corrosion research on zinc coatings is presented.
Ein neuer Ansatz bei elektrochemischen Korrosionsuntersuchungen kann durch den Einsatz von gelartigen Elektrolyten als Alternative zu wässrigen Prüfelektrolyten beschritten werden. Gelartige Elektrolyte ermöglichen minimalinvasive Untersuchungen an natürlich gebildeten Zinkdeckschichten. Dadurch können korrosionsrelevante Kennwerte ermittelt werden, die Aussagen zur Deckschichtbildung und zur Stabilität der gebildeten Deckschichten unter verschiedenen klimatischen Bedingungen erlauben. In diesem Beitrag wird anhand verschiedener Deckschichtzustände an Zink der Mehrwert von Untersuchungen mit gelartigen Elektrolyten für die Korrosionsforschung verdeutlicht.
Ein neuer Ansatz bei elektrochemischen Korrosionsuntersuchungen kann durch den Einsatz von gelartigen Elektrolyten als Alternative zu wässrigen Prüfelektrolyten beschritten werden. Gelartige Elektrolyte ermöglichen minimalinvasive Untersuchungen an natürlich gebildeten Zinkdeckschichten. Dadurch können korrosionsrelevante Kennwerte ermittelt werden, die Aussagen zur Deckschichtbildung und zur Stabilität der gebildeten Deckschichten erlauben. In diesem Beitrag wird anhand verschiedener Deckschichtzustände an Zink der Mehrwert von gelartigen Elektrolyten für die Korrosionsforschung verdeutlicht.
Korrosionsuntersuchungen mit gelartigen Elektrolyten an natürlich gebildeten Zinkdeckschichten
(2016)
Ein neuer Ansatz bei elektrochemischen Korrosionsuntersuchungen kann durch den Einsatz von gelartigen Elektrolyten als Alternative zu wässrigen Prüfelektrolyten beschritten werden. Gelartige Elektrolyte ermöglichen minimalinvasive Untersuchungen an natürlich gebildeten Zinkdeckschichten.
Dadurch können korrosionsrelevante Kennwerte ermittelt werden, die Aussagen zur Deckschichtbildung und zur Stabilität der gebildeten Deckschichten erlauben. In diesem Beitrag wird anhand verschiedener Deckschichtzustände an Zink der Mehrwert von gelartigen Elektrolyten für die Korrosionsforschung verdeutlicht.