For the products that are used in very corrosive environment, it can be very important that they are able to bear those corrosive fumes and survive the harsh working environment. In industries, the working environment is very harsh and extreme. The ambient conditions consist of extremely harmful chemical fumes, solutions and other factors such as moisture, salt and so forth that can compromise the quality as well as the integrity of the materials and products that are being used for different application. Especially for the materials such as plastics, polymers and metals, it can be very crucial to work under such environments. These environments can easily lead to conditions that can causing accelerated corrosion of the materials and deteriorate the quality and integrity of the materials and cause them to fail. In industries such as chemical plants, or electroplating industries, the working environments can be highly corrosive due to presence of harsh chemical fumes. This can be a reason for the failure of the components due to deterioration of materials leading to failure of the whole operations.
Due to this reason, the manufacturers of these materials, products and components need to keep n mind that they have to keep the quality of the products they manufacture so high that it should survive such combat-worthy and harsh working environment. For this, the manufacturers need to ensure that they are using the best quality of materials for manufacturing the final products that will be used in such corrosive environments. The best way to ensure that the quality of the products is up to mark and is capable of surviving the harsh corrosive environments faced in the industrial working conditions, is to test the quality of the products with the help of proper and precise testing procedures and testing instrument in controlled environments.
One of the most commonly used testing procedure for testing corrosion resistivity of products is with the help of salt spray test. Salt Spray test is a testing procedure that is used in many industries and laboratories to test the impact of the corrosive condition on the quality as well as the strength and longevity of a certain materials. With the help of this testing procedure, it can be easily determined whether a material can survive in a corrosive environment without deterioration or not. And if it can survive such conditions, then for how much long the molecular integrity as well as the physical composition of the material will remain intact and resist deterioration.
Salt Spray Test
Salt spray test or otherwise known as salt fog test is a standard testing procedure that is used for testing the resistance of certain materials against the corrosive elements and conditions, usually the materials that re tested using the procedures are metals and surface coatings that are applied on metals for their protection. Occasionally, there are polymeric, plastic and rubber materials also that are tested using this testing procedure to analyse the behaviour of such materials when they are subjected to such corrosive condition. Salt Spray test is an accelerated corrosion test that is used for producing a corrosion attack on the samples being tested to analyse and evaluate the suitability of the material for a particular environment. It is also used for evaluation of the suitability of a certain coating for a metal when subjected to a certain amount of corrosive elements in a working environment. The presence of rust or any oxide or corrosive residue is evaluated after the testing procedure which in turn gives us the measure of the corrosion resistance of the products against such environmental conditions. The testing procedure is conducted according to the procedural steps prescribed in ASTM B 117 which is the first internationally recognized salt spray standard. Other relevant standards related to the test include ISO 9227, JIS Z 2371, and ASTM G85. The reason for the popularity for this test for corrosion resistance is because it is inexpensive, quick, reputability and well regulated by standards. The test is mainly applicable in the industries where there is a need for testing the efficiency of the protective coating that is applied to metal surfaces for their protection.
Salt Spray Tester / Corrosion Test Chamber
For conducting the salt spray test, there is a requirement of a closed chamber that is equipped with mechanisms to create fogs containing NACL fumes that are used for accelerating the corrosion procedure. The Salt Spray Tester is the testing instrument that is used for testing the corrosion resistance of materials through the testing procedure. The equipment contains a closed cabinet where there is a salt water solution used for creating fog through atomizer and pressurized air. Variations to the salt spray include introduction of acidic solutions with the NACL solution to test the behaviour of the materials and test specimen under different corrosion agents. Some of the modified forms of testing include the cyclic corrosion test, acidic salty spray test and so forth. To commence the testing procedure, the test sample is placed inside the testing chamber. After the specimen is placed properly, the chamber is closed and the fog is started to build in the chamber. This fog contains the corrosive material that is required for testing the sample. The timer in the equipment is set for a certain period. Once the time set on the timer is over, the test is stopped and the sample is taken out of the equipment for analysis. The sample is then analysed for the impact of the corrosive agents on the quality of the sample by analysing the accumulation of oxidized substance on the surface of the test specimen.
Pacorr offers one of the most equipped lines of salt spray testers with varying capacities and functionalities. The instrument contains a fog collector that collects the residual fogs to be used in the next cycle of testing. The water level indictor, present timer and pressure gauge are the standard features that come with the instrument. The test chamber is made from high quality materials to ensure long life and service of the instrument without any major issue and compromising its efficiency.?
