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It is no exaggeration to say that in a solar power plant, one mounts all their investments on
a steel structure which supports the energy generating solar panels for three decades. The
role of mounting structures is two fold, one is to optimize the costs involved and make a
solar power plant economically viable and the other is to ensure the durability of a solar
power plant. In this context we dedicate this article to explore the mutliple aspects of
corrossion in the mounting structures perspective.
Corrosion the Process:
Corrsion, in simple terms is degradation of ferrous material due to environmental
condidtions. In this process, metal loses its strength and does not serve its design life and
capability leading to material failure.
Corrosion is a process of metal degradation, where the metal when it comes in contact with
an electrolyte, a localised battery is formed and the metal being anodic loses it electrons
and thus its properties. The electrolyte can be rain water that is acidic, high humidity and
saline air i.e. air having high amount of dissolved or suspended minerals like Calcium,
Magnesium, etc.

Protecting the Mounting Structures- Theoritical and

Practical

Observtions
(i) Standard Codes: Research on corrosion of steel and its prevention, has been an ongoing
execrise for many years now and the codes and guides used to design structrues and
fabricate them have been developed by our academicians based on this thorough research.
First step towards prevention of corrosion is to employ these codes with precision through
stringent quality norms.
(ii) Indian Codes and New Materials: Many newer variations of steel which are equally or
even more capable of resisting corrosion need to be explored to optimize for economic
viability. Codes and Standards for these newer material may or may not exist and have to be
verifi ed with testing centers. We at Nuevosol as a part of our continuous research to

optimize have conducted several tests at reputed laboratories like TUV to ensure the same.
These results have been shared in this article as a case study.
(iii) Post-galvanization: Theory and practice suggests that, a 70 micron and above coating
thickness is required for 20 year or above corrosion proofi ng for components which are
highly exposed to corrossive environments. This is achieved via hot-dip galavnization (HDG)
of processed material. However in mounting structures base posts/ foundation memebers
which are the most
exposed to enviromnent in terms of wear and tear are maintained to be of HDG material
with 70 micron coating thickness, while the rest of the components can be pre-galvanized or
other newer material.
Limitations: Hot dip galvanization being a semi-automated process with lot of manual
intervention, calls for quality manaegemnt at every level. In this semi automated process
one must be aware that there cannot bemachine made perfection in the coating thickness,
leading to uneven surfaces. Hotdip galvanization is possible only at higher thicknesses, and
can prove to be pricey, if it has to be used for complete strcuture.
(iv) Pre-galvanized Steel: Pre galvanized steel has been in use for many years now in
developed countries for solar mounting. It comes in three main varieties namely 250 GSM,
375 GSM and 550 GSM. Pre gavlanized steel has been used in many industries, mainly the
automobile industry and pre-engineered buildings as it is known for its formability. The
features of availability at lower thicknesses and formability have made it a favourite for
design of solar structures. Caution has to be exercised in the design and manufacturing
using pre galavnized steel as the galavnization coating thickness is a maximum of 20 micron
each side for 550 GSM steel. However the usage of these steels in solar structures is
restrictired to components which are not very exposed to
34EQ February 2014
corrosive environment nor are prone to water stagnation. This has been ongoing practice for
several years in Europe, where a maximum of 350 GSM steel is being used which proved to
be resistant to corrossion. At Nuevosol we use 550 GSM pre galvanized material. Caution has
to be exercised when bending, punching and handling the material, as any kind of wear and
tear can expose unportected steel to atmosphere.
(v) Accessories:
In structures that are used for mounting panels, there will be vibrations due to wind loading;
these vibrations in turn cause sliding of fasteners against the surface of the components at
the mounting points, this sliding leads to rupture on the surface of the fastener and the
component being fastened at the place of contact, exposing them to the elements and thus
causing corrosion. This can be avoided by providing washers at the point of contact or
providing appropriate spacing allowing a partial movement or by lubrication.
As a practise solar structures are to be assemebled using galvanized accessories or even
better stainless steel accessories. Generally prefered grades are HDG 5.6 for structure
assembly and SS 304 for module assembly.
Pre Galvanized and Post Galvanized Steel; A Comparative Study.
Nuevosol provides warranty on all the supplied material and therefore gets all its
components tested and certifi ed against corrosion by many laboratories. One such test we
have conducted to compare corrosion in various types of steel used in solar structures, we
took the assistance of TUV Rheinland.

Accelerated Salt Spray and Cyclic Corrosion

Test.
To phrase it in simple manner, the test is to accelerate the corrosion process by simulating
the harsh conditions to test for 25 years durability in a span of a few thousand hours.
It is a standardized method used to check corrosion resistance of metals/alloys and inorganic
and organic coatings. It is a tool for evaluating the uniformity of thickness and degree of
porosity of metallic and nonmetallic protective coatings. A number of samples can be tested
at once depending upon their size.

This method is considered most useful for measuring relative corrosion resistance of closely
related materials (comparative test). It is widely used for process qualifi cation and quality
acceptance. The test method provides a controlled corrosive environment representing
accelerated marine type atmospheric condition.
One test cycle consists of
1.
2.

Four
Humidity

spray
storage

period

periods
between

20

each
to

22

hours

of
after

2
each

spray

hour
period;

3. Afterwards one storage period of 3 days under a standard atmosphere for testing at 232
0 C and 45% to 55% humidity.
There are a number of such cycles followed to test the sample.The following are the
components that we got tested recently and the results and conclusions follow:
Observations of the experiment:
Hot Dip Galvanized 80 Micron (HDG 80MS) coated steel is the most corrosion resistant
material. Zinc Alum Coated Steel and Pre galvanized 550 GSM material have comparable
resistance to HDG 80. Lower grade Pre-galvanised materials are corrosive compared to both
HDG 80 MS, Zinc-Alum and Pre-Galvanized 550 GSM Steel.
Sample

Result.

Column Post 550 GSM with Zn Spray

No sign of corrosion even after 2000 hours of

exposure.

Column Post HDG 80 MS

No sign of corrosion even after 2000 hours of exposure

Column Post 350 GSM

Sign of corrosion after 960 hours of exposure.

Zinc Alum Coated Steel

No sign of corrosion even after 2400 hours of

exposure.

June 2011
Q: "Is there a way to predict the expected service life of galvanized steel in industrial use?
Answer:
A. As you might expect, the answer depends on several factors, including the environment, the
application and the thickness of coating.

The American Galvanizers Association (AGA) published the Time To First Maintenance Chart in 2010.
Time to first maintenance is defined as 5% rusting of the steel surface. According to the chart, in a
typical industrial environment with the ASTM A 123 minimum 3.9 mil zinc coating, it will be 72
years before any maintenance is required. The coating thickness of hot-dip galvanized steel is usually
between 4 and 5 mils. This means that the first need for surface maintenance may not occur for more
than 90 years. Then you might need to do a little touch-up. The chart is available for download from the
AGA Web site, http://www.galvanizeit.org/aga/resources/aga-publications/.
The Time To First Maintenance Chart was developed using a corrosion prediction model called the Zinc
Coating Life Predictor (ZCLP). The program performs calculations based on models developed using
statistical methods, neural network technology and an extensive worldwide corrosion database.
You can use the ZCLP yourself. Just click here [http://www.galvinfo.com:8080/zclp/] and put in your
specific parameters. Obviously, atmospheric levels of airborne salinity, precipitation, relative humidity,
sulfur dioxide, and temperature influence actual corrosion rates in specific geographic locations.
Annual average temperatures, precipitation and humidity for your state or city can be found at
www.currentresults.com. You may have to estimate airborne SO2 and salinity levels for your site, unless
you have actual test results. The following information might help in your estimating. According to the
European Communitys LIFECON project (2003), concentrations of airborne sulfur dioxide from 60
mg/m2/day and up are considered Industrial, with 10 to 80 mg/m2/day being Light Industrial, and below
10 mg/m2/day being benign. Similarly, 60 or more mg/m2/day of airborne salinity is considered a Marine
environment, with 15 to 60 mg/m2/day being Light Marine and below 15 mg/m2/day being benign. For
coating thickness, since hot dip galvanizing is usually between 4 and 5 mils thick, I would go with 4.5. (Be
sure to select mils from the dropdown.)
Plug in the parameters that best describe your project and see what the ZCLP has to say. Please note
that some of the parameters have drop-down selections. Make sure you choose the right ones. It will
affect the results.
So, to answer your question, yes, there is a way to estimate the expected service life of galvanized steel
in industrial applications. Keep in mind, the ZCLPs predictions are estimates, not guarantees. Are they
accurate? Most likely, but the fact is that hot dip galvanized steel lasts so long we may not be around to
find out!
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