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BUILDING ENVELOPE CORROSION

WD Ganther & IS Cole
CSIRO Manufacturing & Infrastructure Technology Highett Victoria Australia

Summary: This paper presents results from a program in which the microclimatic conditions and
the corrosion rate of coated steel in the building envelope of houses was measured. These houses
were situated on the east coast of Australia in tropical, subtropical and temperate regions. The
exterior conditions would be classified as severe marine, marine, urban and inland. Materials were
exposed and the microclimatic conditions measured on the exterior, and in the wall cavities and
roof spaces of brick veneer, slab on ground houses. Materials exposed included pregalvanised and
hot dipped galvanised steel and aluminumzinc-coated steel. The microclimatic conditions and
corrosion rates of samples (over two years) are reported, and the relationship between corrosion
rate and climatic conditions explored and modelled.

Keywords: building envelope, corrosion, aluminiumzinc, galvanised, TOW, salinity.

1

INTRODUCTION

In the Newcastle earthquake of 1989, a number of failures of building facades were associated with corrosion of brick ties (1).
Such corrosion left the outer masonry unsupported and the facade then failed as a result of the lateral ground movements
imposed by the earthquake. Analysis of conditions around the country indicated that the climatic/pollution conditions of
Newcastle, though severe, were not exceptional (2), and thus brick tie corrosion was possible in a number of Australian
centres. Field experience since then has in fact demonstrated that brick tie corrosion is significant in a number of other centres.
As a result of the Newcastle earthquake, concerns were raised as to whether corrosion within the building envelope was more
general and if problems may be associated with a number of other metallic components. To resolve this issue, CSIRO and a
number of industrial partners undertook a research program to define the microclimatic conditions in buildings around the
country, and to assess whether significant corrosion of metallic components is likely in the different spaces in houses (wall
cavities/roofs) on the Australian eastern seaboard. Initial results relating to the microclimatic conditions in a number of houses
were originally published in Cole et al. (3). A previous paper by Cole et al. (4) produced summary corrosion data and provided a
discussion of the implications for coating mass required in severe marine, marine and urban/inland locations for zinc and
aluminiumzinc-based coatings. This paper completes the earlier work by presenting data on the corrosion rate of exposed
coupons and interpreting the corrosion rate by reference to the climatic conditions.
2

EXPERIMENTAL

2.1
Sites
All houses are brick veneer, slab on ground construction, except Harbord which has a timber floor suspended on brick piers,
and Wentworth Falls which is of timber construction. Specific details of the locations and house types are given in Tables I and
II respectively.
Three of these houses were in the Cairns area (Edmonton, Kewarra Beach and Tolga), three on the Sunshine Coast (Buddina 1,
Buddina 2 and Wurtulla), two in the greater Brisbane area (KippaRing and Sinnamon Park) and four in the Sydney area
(Narrabeen, Harbord, Campbelltown and Wentworth Falls). All houses had sarking in the walls (except Narrabeen, Harbord
and Wentworth Falls) and roofs (except Wentworth Falls), and the majority had insulation above the roof beams.
The houses were selected to give sites in tropical/subtropical and temperate climatic zones subjected to severe marine, marine,
urban and inland exposures.

CAP-2002 Paper 067 Page 1

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Table I. Features of house location

Location

Classification

Distance
from
coast
(km)

Nearest
Coast
type

Airborne
salinity
(mg/m2.day)

Altitude

Terrain

(m)

Rainfall
per
annum
(mm)

Edmonton

Tropical/urban

12

Sheltered

25

Below spur

2032*

Kewarra
Beach

Tropical/marine

0.5

Sheltered

Flat

2032*

Tolga

Tropical/inland

55

Sheltered

535

Flat/on
tableland

1056*

Buddina 1

Severe marine/
subtropical

0.05

Surf

83

On sand
dune

984

Buddina 2

Severe marine/
subtropical

0.05

Surf

112

On sand
dune

1188

Wurtulla

Severe marine/
subtropical

0.2

Surf

41

Flat/behind
sand dune

840

KippaRing

Marine/
subtropical

Sheltered

Flat

855

Sinnamon
Park

Urban/subtropical

26

Sheltered/
surf

20

Hilly

1896

Narrabeen

Severe marine/
temperate

0.1

Surf

210

Flat

801

Harbord

Marine/temperate

0.6

Surf

4.1

20

Hilly

1075

Campbelltown

Urban

34.3

Surf/
sheltered

50

Flat

710

Wentworth
Falls

Inland

85

Surf/
sheltered

5.6

772

Mountainous

1410

* From nearest meteorological station.

Table II. Features of houses

Location

Storeys

Roof type

Edmonton

Colorbond

Yes

Kewarra

Colorbond

Yes

Tolga

Colorbond

Yes

Buddina 1

Aluminium

Yes

22

Buddina 2

Tiles

No

32

Wurtulla

Tiles

Yes

KippaRing

Colorbond

Yes

Sinnamon Park

Tiles

No

27

Narrabeen

Tiles

No/sarking

Harbord

Tiles

No/sarking

10

Campbelltown

Colorbond

No/sarking

Wentworth Falls

Tiles

None

CAP-2002 Paper 067 Page 2

Roof insulation

Age at time of survey (years)

>30

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2.2
Sensors
At each site the following parameters were measured and recorded every half hour: outside rainfall, relative humidity (RH),
temperature, surface wetness and airborne salinity; and wall cavity and roof space RH, temperature, surface wetness and
airborne salinity. Surface wetness was measured using a gold grid sensor (5) and airborne salinity was measured using a wet
candle technique according to ISO 9225. However, in the wall cavities the ISO method was modified to produce a smaller
candle with a flat wick (6). Wetness sensors on the exterior were protected from vertical rain. Sensors in the wall cavity were
lowered to a height of 1.4 m from the ground, while those in the roof were placed 1 m (where possible) from the ceiling level.
In all cases, wetness sensors were placed in airspaces not directly on a surface, and thus represent wetness of an isolated
component, not a large system (i.e. framing or roofing systems).
2.3
Coupons
Specimens were placed on exterior racks, in roof cavities and in wall cavities for two years. Materials exposed included
passivated galvanised steel (Z275, 1mm thick, and Z600, 3mm thick, to AS 1397), hot dipped galvanised steel (3mm thick)
and aluminumzinc (AlZn)-coated steel (AZ150 to AS 1397,1mm thick). The AlZn coating was passivated 55% aluminum
zinc having the trade name Zincalume. Some non-passivated AlZn samples were also exposed. All plates were 100 150
mm, with atmospheric exposures being carried out according to ASTM G50-76, involving degreasing with an alcohol scrub
according to ASTM G31-7. At the Cairns and Brisbane sites, only one coupon was exposed at each location, while at the
Sydney sites, triplicates were exposed on the exterior and duplicates in the building envelope spaces. On exterior exposures
and in the roof, specimens were mounted at 45 to the horizontal. In the wall cavities, specimens were lowered vertically into
the cavity space. Cleaning was according to ASTM G1-90 using a blank as a reference.
3

RESULTS

The results of the average value for the duplicate or triplicate samples for all sites are presented in detail. Tables III and IV
show the galvanised Z275 and Z600 two-year corrosion results. Table V shows the AlZn two-year corrosion rate. Tables VI
XVII show the exterior corrosion rates for all periods of exposure.
Table III. Galvanised 275 g/m2 corrosion rate after two years (g/m.year)

Location

Outside

Roof space

Above sarking

Wall cavity (exposed)

Wall cavity (sheltered)

0.77

Edmonton

4.58

0.31

Kewarra

5.53

0.62

Tolga

0.29

0.46

0.51

Buddina 1

25.06

6.24

0.18

3.31

Buddina 2

23.01

1.80

9.78

4.25

Wurtulla

11.83

0.47

9.75

0.24

0.13

KippaRing

3.97

0.09

0.50

0.08

Sinnamon Park

1.65

0.08

0.12

56.64

7.76

17.15

1.70

0.62

0.56

3.83

Narrabeen
Harbord
Campbelltown
Wentworth Falls

3.27

0.26
1.35

0.56
0.30

CAP-2002 Paper 067 Page 3

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Table IV. Galvanised 600 g/m2 corrosion rate after two years (g/m.year)

Location

Outside

Roof space

Edmonton

5.03

Kewarra
Tolga

Wall cavity (exposed)

Wall cavity (sheltered)

0.24

0.72

0.06

4.31

0.62

0.84

4.04

0.20

Buddina 1

33.18

8.65

0.50

7.89

Buddina 2

30.21

2.77

11.46

0.96

Wurtulla

17.10

0.87

12.31

KippaRing

5.55

0.68

Sinnamon Park

2.98

0.29

56.80

Harbord
Campbelltown

Narrabeen

Above sarking

0.20

0.59

0.84

0.90

0.48

0.56

3.34

41.23

2.57

1.19

4.89

0.16

10.99

3.07

0.03

2.27

1.43

Wentworth Falls
Table V. AlZn corrosion rate after two-years (g/m.year)

Location

Outside

Roof space

Edmonton

2.61

1.01

Kewarra

2.29

0.07

Tolga

1.69

Buddina 1

5.19

3.05

0.19

2.29

Buddina 2

4.78

0.98

3.07

0.81

Wurtulla

3.74

0.84

5.40

0.17

0.13

KippaRing

3.12

0.33

Sinnamon Park

1.75

0.17

0.39

0.12

0.06

11.35 (10.34)

2.52

11.20

1.15

0.09

0.39

2.96
0.28

0.45

Narrabeen
Harbord
Campbelltown
Wentworth Falls

CAP-2002 Paper 067 Page 4

Above sarking

Wall cavity
(exposed)

0.86
0.28

0.72
0.71

2.29 (2.06)

0.09
0.65

Wall cavity
(sheltered)

0.23

0.82

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Table VI. Narrabeen outside mass loss (g/m.year)

Exposed

Collected

Days

G275

October 1995

March 1996

147

21.7

March 1996

February 1997

324

54.8

February 1997

June 1997

139

June 1997

October 1997

117

February 1997

October 1997

259

October 1997

July 1998

255

October 1995

October 1997

730

G600

AZ150

AZ150 NP

Cu-steel

Zinc

620.5

53.6

30

12
67.5

23

22.1
837.5

56.6

56.8

11.3

10.3

Table VII. Edmonton outside mass loss (g/m.year)

Exposed

Collected

Days

G275

112

32.6

December 1994

March 1995

March 1995

June 1995

85

1.7

June 1995

August 1995

73

4.3

August 1995

December 1995

113

3.5

February 1994

December 1995

686

December 1993

December 1995

737

G600

AZ150

AZ150 NP

5.6

11.3

Cu-steel

Zinc

Cu-steel

Zinc

8.7
4.4

3.7

5.0
2.6

4.6

Table VIII. Harbord outside mass loss (g/m.year)

Exposed

Collected

Days

G275

G600

AZ150

3.6

4.4

AZ150 NP

March 1996

September 1996

170

3.5

September 1996

February 1997

154

4.6

February 1997

June 1997

140

6.6

June 1997

November 1997

142

4.3

2.3

November 1997

January 1998

67

8.8

3.9

January 1998

March 1998

69

9.4

4.8

September 1996

November 1997

436

212.5

November 1997

December 1998

387

227.0

March 1996

March 1998

742

5.3

11.0

4.9

CAP-2002 Paper 067 Page 5

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Table IX. Kewarra outside mass loss (g/m.year)

Exposed

Collected

Days

June 1995

August 1995

August 1995

December 1995

113

September 1994 December 1995

453

February 1994

December 1995

667

December 1993 December 1995

738

G275

G600

74

AZ150

AZ150 NP

Cu-steel

Zinc

AZ150 NP

Cu-steel

Zinc

AZ150 NP

Cu-steel

Zinc

Cu-steel

Zinc

Cu-steel

Zinc

5.2
3.2

5.1
5.0
4.3

5.5

2.3

Table X. KippaRing outside mass loss (g/m.year)

Exposed

Collected

November 1994 March 1995

Days

G275

G600

119

AZ150
14.0

March 1995

June 1995

83

4.0

June 1995

August 1995

79

August 1995

December 1995

102

4.8

February 1994

December 1995

674

4.0

6.7
7.6
5.6

3.1

Table XI. Sinnamon outside mass loss (g/m.year)

Exposed

Collected

Days

G275

August 1995

December 1995

105

2.7

February 1994

December 1995

674

1.6

G600

AZ150
4.7

3.0

1.8

Table XII. Buddina 1 outside mass loss (g/m.year)

Exposed

Collected

Days

G275

G600
33.2

AZ150

May 1994

May 1996

737

25.1

March 1995

June 1995

85

22.0

13.4

August 1995

December 1995

104

13.7

13.3

December 1995

May 1996

148

AZ150 NP

5.2

33.5

Table XIII. Buddina 2 outside mass loss (g/m.year)

Exposed

Collected

November 1994 March 1995

Days

G275

G600

AZ150

118

31.6

16.5

14.6

13.6

AZ150 NP
15.5

March 1995

June 1995

86

June 1995

August 1995

77

12.9

August 1995

December 1995

104

11.0

December 1995

May 1996

148

May 1994

May 1996

737

CAP-2002 Paper 067 Page 6

11.0
23.0

30.2

4.8

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Table XIV. Tolga outside mass loss (g/m.year)

Exposed

Collected

Days

December 1994

March 1995

112

June 1995

August 1995

74

August 1995

December 1995

112

February 1994

December 1995

685

December 1993

December 1995

738

G275

G600

AZ150

AZ150 NP

Cu-steel

Zinc

Cu-steel

Zinc

46.9
5.5
4.1
4.0
0.3

1.7

Table XV. Wentworth Falls outside mass loss (g/m.year)

Exposed

Collected

Days

G275

G600

AZ150

October 1997

January 1998

89

6.3

3.2

January 1998

March 1998

68

12.0

3.8

March 1998

June 1998

94

5.6

3.0

June 1998

December 1998

158

6.9

1.8

December 1998

June 1999

182

5.5

2.5

June 1999

September 1999

91

5.7

4.8

September 1999 December 1999

98

7.1

4.3

AZ150 NP

December 1998

December 1999

371

151.0

11.4

October 1997

December 1998

409

146.2

11.5

Cu-steel

Zinc

Cu-steel

Zinc

Table XVI. Wurtulla outside mass loss (g/m.year)

Exposed

Collected

Days

G275

August 1995

December 1995

104

December 1995

May 1996

148

10.9

February 1994

May 1996

824

11.8

G600

AZ150

AZ150 NP
9.1
9.5

17.1

3.7

Table XVII. Campbelltown outside mass loss (g/m.year)

Exposed

Collected

Days

G275

G600

AZ150 NP

4.5

4.1

October 1995

March 1996

152

March 1996

September 1996

167

2.2

3.2

September 1996 February 1997

154

3.5

3.8

February 1997

June 1997

140

4.7

June 1997

October 1997

117

3.0

February 1997

October 1997

257

3.7

September 1996 October 1997

411

October 1995

730

October 1997

11.8

AZ150

1.1
2.9
162.2

3.3

3.1

2.3

2.06

With the exception of the severe marine sites (Buddina 1&2 and Narrabeen) and Wurtulla, corrosion rates were low for all
building envelope positions. For the severe marine sites, significant corrosion rates were recorded above the sarking (except
CAP-2002 Paper 067 Page 7

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Buddina 1) and in the wall cavities. However, though significant, the rates are not high, being of the order of 10 g/m.year
above the sarking and 5 g/m.year in the wall cavities. If this rate persisted over a period of 50 years, galvanised components
above the sarking would lose 500 g/m and in the wall cavities 250 g/m. In most locations corrosion rates on galvanised
coupons were rarely above 2 g/m.year, and over a 50-year period would lose no more than 100 g/m.
3.1
Climatic Data
Average relative humidity (RH) and temperature data recorded over the two-year monitoring period is documented in tables
XVIII and XIX. Table XX documents the averages of the absolute humidity (calculated from the temperature and RH). The
ISO time of wetness (TOW) calculated from the temperature and RH is presented in Table XXI as percentage time when the
RH is greater than 80% and the temperature is greater than 0C.
Table XVIII. Average RH (%) for the two-year period

Location

Outside

Roof space

Above sarking

Wall cavity (exposed)

Wall cavity (sheltered)

77

61

55

65

66

Tolga

70

54

64

55

Buddina 1

76

65

51

88

Buddina 2

65

46

72

61

Wurtulla

76

68

68

83

80

KippaRing

62

52

52

60

58

Narrabeen

79

64

66

69

59

Harbord

74

55

58

65

64

Campbelltown

67

50

61

69

59

Wentworth Falls

74

75

Edmonton
Kewarra

Sinnamon Park

72

Table XIX. Average temperature (C) for the two-year period

Location

Outside

Roof space

Above sarking

Wall cavity (exposed)

Wall cavity (sheltered)

23

29

30

26

25

Tolga

22

27

25

26

Buddina 1

20

21

24

21

Buddina 2

20

25

25

23

Wurtulla

21

23

23

23

22

KippaRing

20

25

26

24

24

Narrabeen

24

21

21

22

20

Harbord

19

23

23

20

20

Campbelltown

14

23

21

19

20

Wentworth Falls

15

14

Edmonton
Kewarra

Sinnamon Park

CAP-2002 Paper 067 Page 8

14

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Table XX. Average absolute humidity (g/m) for the two-year period

Location

Outside

Edmonton

Roof space

Above sarking
13.9

Wall cavity (exposed)

Wall cavity (sheltered)

16.6

15.6

14.0

12.4

19.9

17.3

Tolga

12.0

12.6

Buddina 1

13.3

12.1

11.5

13.1

Buddina 2

11.4

10.8

16.8

12.3

Wurtulla

13.8

14.4

17.2

17.5

15.3

7.6

12.0

9.1

13.2

12.9

Narrabeen

17.9

12.0

11.7

12.3

11.5

Harbord

11.7

11.0

11.2

11.3

11.2

8.2

10.3

10.0

11.7

10.3

Kewarra

KippaRing
Sinnamon Park

Campbelltown
Wentworth Falls

Table XXI. ISO TOW for the two-year period (% time RH >80% & temperature >0C)

Location

Outside

Roof space

Above sarking

54

1.4

Tolga

54

Buddina 1

56

13.5

28

Buddina 2

50

4.5

31

26

Wurtulla

47

28

61

51

KippaRing

34

1.3

31

Narrabeen

52

4.6

20

Harbord

43

0.5

Campbelltown

34

22

23

Wentworth Falls

50

45

Edmonton

Wall cavity (exposed)

8

Wall cavity (sheltered)

9

Kewarra

20

14

2.5

Sinnamon Park

28

CAP-2002 Paper 067 Page 9

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Table XXII. Average salt deposition (mg/m.day) for the two-year period

Location

Outside

Roof space

Above sarking

Wall cavity (exposed)

Edmonton

Kewarra

Tolga

Buddina 1

82

Buddina 2

112

1, 2*

2, 8*

Wurtulla

40

0, 2*

0, 7*

KippaRing

Sinnamon Park

244

4, 10*

Harbord

4*

Campbelltown

Wentworth Falls

Narrabeen

Wall cavity (sheltered)

4
3

0.3

* Indicates that a flat salt candle was used.

4

DISCUSSION

An in-depth analysis of the data presented is out of the scope of this paper. Cole et al. (4) has analysed corrosion rates from
this data to determine the minimum coating mass required for the satisfactory life for an average specimen. The satisfactory
life for non-replaceable building components was taken to be the equivalent to the life of the building, which was taken to be
50 years. External cladding can be replaced so a life of 15 years was deemed to be satisfactory. Tables XXIII and XXIV show
the minimum coating mass required to protect the majority of specimens in severe marine, marine and inland/urban
environments for the expected life of the building or to a satisfactory replacement time.
Table XXIII. Minimum coating mass (g/m2) required for zinc coating

Location

Roof cavity

Wall cavity

Exterior

Severe marine

600

600

Not possible

Marine

150

150

275

Urban/inland

150

150

120

Table XXIV. Minimum coating mass (g/m2) required for AlZn coating

Location

Roof cavity

Wall cavity

Exterior

Severe marine

240

200

260

Marine

80

80

140

Urban/inland

80

80

80

As previously mentioned, a detailed explanation of the implications of this data for materials selection can be found in Cole et
al. (4). However some interesting points arise when the complete data set is analysed. Points of interest are:

Corrosion in the building envelope is up to an order of magnitude less than the exterior and appreciable rates only
occur in buildings situated in severe marine environments.

CAP-2002 Paper 067 Page 10

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Although there is only partial data, the AZ150 seasonal rates seem consistent compared to galvanised samples.
Interestingly, where comparisons are made between standard AZ150 and non-passivated AZ150 (AZ150 NP), there is
no significant difference between the corrosion rates (except in one case).

In Table XXV, the average seasonal and two-year corrosion rates are compared for AZ150 and galvanised Z275 coatings.
Table XXV. Comparison of average seasonal corrosion rates
with the two-year corrosion rate (g/m.year)

AZ150

Site

Galvanised 275

Seasonal

2-year

Ratio

Seasonal

2-year

Ratio

Edmonton

5.0

2.6

1.9

3.2

4.6

0.7

Kewarra

5.1

2.3

2.2

3.2

5.5

0.6

Tolga

4.8

1.7

2.8

Buddina 1

13.3

5.2

2.6

17.9

25.1

0.7

Buddina 2

13.4

4.8

2.8

23.1

23.0

1.0

Wurtulla

9.3

3.7

2.5

10.9

11.8

0.9

KippaRing

9.4

3.1

3.0

4.4

4.0

1.1

Sinnamon Park

4.7

1.8

2.8

2.7

1.6

1.7

15.7

7.0

2.2

35.5

56.6

0.6

3.3

1.0

Narrabeen
Harbord

4.1

Campbelltown

3.2

Wentworth Falls

3.3
Average

6.2
2.3

1.4

3.4
7.0

2.4

Average

0.9

The average seasonal corrosion rate of AZ150 is on average 2.4 times higher than the two-year corrosion rate and the ratio
between seasonal and two yearly is similar across all the sites. For galvanised samples, the average seasonal rate is similar to
the two-year rate with a ratio of 0.9. This suggests that the corrosion rate for the galvanised coatings is approximately linear
over the two-year period. Contrastingly, the AZ150 corrosion rate has decreased between the three-month and two-year
periods. It is commonly accepted that corrosion rates decrease over time due to corrosion product build up, which inhibit
further corrosion. The AZ150 corrosion rate reduced over the two-year period but the galvanised corrosion rate was stable. It
may be that more time is needed for the corrosion rate of galvanised steel to decrease.
In order to compare AZ150 corrosion rates to those of galvanised, a logarithmic function was fitted to the two-year corrosion
rate data giving a relationship that is of the following form:
AZ150 = 1.5 (galvanised)0.3776; or
Galvanised = 0.4167 (AZ150)2.4993
This relationship has an R2 of 0.9438.
A model has been developed by CSIRO to estimate the corrosion rates anywhere in Australia, and this has been made available
on the Internet in conjunction with Industrial Gavanizers Corporation (www.corp.indgalv.com.au). To see how the CSIRO
model estimates the corrosion rates shown in this paper, a test of the model was made with the results in Table XXVI. The
CSIRO model needed to be corrected for the length of exposure time and because the sites are in an urban environment. These
correction factors are derived from models presented by Cole et al. (7). The urban correction factor, which is 0.64, is not
applied to Narrabeen or the Buddina sites as these front onto surf beaches. The exposure time factor, which is 0.9 for the highly
corrosive sites and 0.77 for the mild sites, is applied to all the sites. The corrected values show the same magnitude as the
actual corrosion rates found. One noticeable difference between field and modelled rates was the roof space results for the
severe marine sites of Narrabeen and Buddina 1 and 2. The higher actual values may reflect differences due to the roof type,
condition and microclimate. That is, Narrabeen and Buddina 2 being tiled roofs and Buddina 1 being a flat aluminium roof.
CAP-2002 Paper 067 Page 11

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Table XXVI. Comparison of corrosion rates with those generated by modelling (g/m2.year)

Site

Model
Outside

Outside corrected

Galvanised two-year
Roof

Wall cavity

Outside

Roof

Wall cavity

Narrabeen

38.1

34.3

1.5

2.5

56.6

7.8

1.7

Buddina 1
Buddina 2
Wurtulla

45.4
45.4
14.2

40.9
40.9
7.0

1.6
1.6
0.5

2.5
2.5
0.9

25.1
23.0
11.8

6.2
1.8
0.5

3.3
4.3
0.2

KippaRing
Tolga
Sinnamon

11.5
13.7
14.9

5.6
6.7
7.3

0.3
0.2
0.2

0.5
0.4
0.5

4.0

0.1

0.5

1.6

0.1

Kewarra
Harbord
Edmonton

13.2
15.5
13.5

6.5
7.6
6.6

0.2
0.8
0.2

0.5
1.2
0.4

5.5

Campbelltown
Wentworth Falls

13.7
14.2

6.7
7.0

0.6
0.3

0.9
0.5

3.3

0.6
0.6

4.6

0.3
1.4

0.3

CONCLUSIONS

This paper presents a significant amount of data, which is still being analysed and is being used by CSIRO to further expand
knowledge of building corrosion. A number of interesting conclusions were drawn from this study:
The presented data shows a good correlation with a corrosion prediction model developed at CSIRO.
Significant corrosion in the building envelope only occurs in severe marine sites.
The rate of corrosion for AZ150 was found to decrease over a two-year period.
Galvanised steel displayed a near linear corrosion rate over a two-year period.
A statistical relationship between two-year exposed AZ150 and Galvanised corrosion rates was presented.
6

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This work was supported and sponsored by the following industrial partners, G. Anderson from Abey, G.Bailey from Mayne
National Industries, D. Roberts from ITW Buildex, J. Robinson from Industrial Galvanizers, and G. Starke and N. Wallace
from BHP.
7

REFERENCES

1. A.W. Page, The design, detailing and construction of masonry the lesson from the Newcastle Earthquake, University of
Newcastle, Research Report No. 073-03 (1992).
2. I.S. Cole, Newcastle earthquake and wall cavity corrosion: implications for the rest of Australia, Corrosion Australasia,
18(3), pp1418 (1993).
3. I.S. Cole, P. Norberg and W.D. Ganther, Environmental factors promoting corrosion in building microclimates, Proc.
13th Int. Corrosion Congress, Melbourne, Australia, vol. IV, paper 410 (1996).
4. I.S. Cole, W.D. Ganther, G. Anderson, G. Bailey, D. Roberts, J. Robinson, G. Starke and N. Wallace, Corrosion in the
building envelope, Proc. Corrosion and Prevention 98, Hobart (November 1998).
5. W.D. Ganther, P. Norberg and I.S. Cole, Sensors for measuring factors promoting corrosion within the building
envelope, Proc. 13th Int. Corrosion Congress, Melbourne, Australia, vol. IV, paper 411 (1996).
6. I.S. Cole and W. Ganther, A preliminary investigation into airborne salinity adjacent to and within the envelope of
Australian houses, Construction and Building Materials, 10(3), pp203207 (1996).
7. I.S. Cole, D.A. Paterson, W.D. Ganther, B. Hinton, G. McAdam, L. Chotimongkol, C. Bhamornsut, N.V. Hue and S.
Purwadaria, A holistic model for atmospheric corrosion: Part 3 Effect of natural and man-made landforms on deposition
of marine salts in Australia and South East Asia, submitted to Corrosion Science (2002).

CAP-2002 Paper 067 Page 12