Many companies today place sensitive material and equipment in environments which may cause serious technical problems and high economic losses. Three main areas are of particular concern: electrical
and electronic equipment in a number of different applications, for example computers and control equipment in the processing industry, material under transport and storage, and artefacts in museums and during storage. The corrosivity of these three regions can be very different, but the mechanisms of corrosion are in general the same. The need to classify environments with respect to their corrosivity is urgent for a rational choice of preventive measures. Measurements have been carried out at 42 indoor sites, 29 in industrial locations, 4 in military stores and 9 in museums and churches. The corrosivity was determined by exposure of metal specimens of silver, copper, nickel, zinc and carbon steel and evaluation with mass increase. The temperature and relative humidity were measured continuously and the concentrations of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, ammonia and ozone were measured with passive samplers. The mass increase data for the first year of exposure are presented and a classification of corrosivity in low corrosive environments is discussed.
Keywords: atmospheric corrosion, indoor corrosion, atmospheric corrosivity, silver, copper, nickel, zinc, mass increase, classification