Effect of Tropical Atmosphere on Corrosion of Different Metals: Corrosivity Measurements of Singapore

Corrosion influences and intrudes many parts of our lives. It can cause dangerous and expensive damages. Singapore obviously faces corrosion consequences though there is no direct evidence or record to justify how aggressive and diverse Singapore atmosphere is in terms of corrosion.  However, now there is some light to shed these doubts as standardised atmospheric exposure tests have been established in Singapore. Atmospheric exposure test sites were setup at three locations of Singapore to represent marine, industrial and urban atmospheres or their mixtures. Salient atmospheric constituents or parameters like time of wetness, Cl^-, SO₂, NO₂, O₃, HNO₃ have been measured in all sites over a period of time to categorise corrosivities of particular atmospheres. The effect of atmosphere on corrosion of Fe, Cu, Al and Zn also has been investigated and quantified. Subsequently, “estimated” and “determined” corrosivity values of Singapore according to ISO 9223:2012 were measured and recorded.