Outdoor Corrosion

Atmospheric or outdoor corrosion is surely the most visible of all corrosion processes, e.g. rusty bridges, flag poles, buildings and outdoor monuments. The large segment of the paint industry committed to the manufacture and application of products for the protection of metals, as well as the large-scale operations of the galvanizing industry attest to the importance of controlling atmospheric corrosion.

Economic losses are therefore tremendous and account for the disappearance of a significant portion of metal produced. Consider, for instance, agricultural machinery, steel structures, fences, exposed metals on buildings, automobile mufflers or bodies, and the myriad of other metal items which are discarded when they become unusable as a result of corrosion. These constitute direct losses from corrosion.

The following examples are mostly on the light side, but they all converge to one conclusion: OUTDOOR CORROSION is present everywhere we look!