Atmospheric corrosion in the Canary Islands (Spain). Part I: Copper

Abstract

This article presents results obtained on the determination of atmospheric corrosion of copper in the province of Las Palmas (Canary Islands, Spain). It was shown that levels of corrosivity obtained for copper exceeded the upper C5 limit specified in the ISO 9223 norm at many stations. For this it is suggested that this norm be incorporated into a new category, C6. From X-ray diffraction analyses, the main component was found to be cuprite, followed by atacamite. The stations have been modeled using the law of potential as well as more complicated mathematical models. The method employed adequately predicted the corrosive process at each station. Generalized models could not be obtained because of the large number of variables, which affect the process.