Deanna Williams Seale, PE
June 3, 2022
#WillItCorrode: Appropriate Material Selection
Even in the throes of summer, everyone still wants their cup of morning joe to stay hot. So for our June edition of our #willitcorrode series, we tested a "durable thermal coffee mug."
In this series the Home Innovation lab team is testing some everyday gadgets and household items in our salt spray chamber, where we typically test products such as nails, screws, anchor bolts, bollards, stair nosing, gutter clips, ladders, cable, baluster, hand railing, and support systems for curtain walls. These experiments on more common consumer items are designed to highlight the practicality of corrosion testing.
#WillItCorrode: Insulated Coffee Mug. After 1 month of exposure of the “durable” insulated coffee mug to salt fog, results document the start of surface oxidation.
Ensuring Adequate Material Selection for the Environment
To work as intended, a material must function within its service environment. The interaction of a material with its environment causes natural deterioration and corrosion, which in turn impacts a variety of materials and problems can occur when material selection is inadequate. Corrosion can be controlled or eliminated by choosing a corrosion-resistant base metal or protective finish or coating that can withstand the exposure environment. Choosing the right material or coating and understanding your in-service conditions may save you costly failures and repairs in the future.
Testing Your Products
Home Innovation offers a full range of corrosion testing in our environmental chambers by simulating an environment based on client specific service conditions. We can also perform standard corrosion tests as defined by ASTM International. Home Innovation provides corrosion testing results that help product designers and manufacturers develop new products, improve existing ones, or respond to regulatory requirements.
Corrosion testing is an important step in material selection of building components to determine the suitability of materials for their intended use. Home Innovation Research Labs can help discover how your product holds up to corrosive forces. Get in touch today to schedule your product’s time in our salt spray chamber.
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