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Materials and Corrosion 2008, 59, No. 11 DOI: 10.1002/maco.

200804168 889

Corrosion Concepts
In this forum readers will be able to present practical problems for a permanent feature of this periodical. We are particularly anxioux
discussion. It is envisaged that these contributions will include not that both Senior Scientists and those with more practical experience
only discussion of general problems and incidents of corrosion but will make use of this forum to exchange information, problems and
that suggested remedies will also be presented and discussed. It is potential remedies.
hoped that this exchange of knowlegde and experience will become

Accelerated corrosion tests in the automotive


industry: A comparison of the performance
towards cosmetic corrosion
N. LeBozec*, N. Blandin and D. Thierry

Corrosion resistance is an important property requirement for phase and wet/dry periods. Today, there are indeed as many
materials used in the manufacturing of automobiles, particularly for accelerated corrosion tests as automotive manufacturers, which
vehicles that operate on roads treated with de-icing salt. This are currently used in order to develop and qualify new products
implies to test the corrosion resistance of automotive systems, in against corrosion, to develop new protective coating systems and
order to make a good selection of materials. Field-tests, including select materials. In the present work, steel- and zinc-coated
stationary and mobile exposures are normally the most reliable materials in cosmetic and crevice configuration were exposed in
ways of doing this, but they are costly and time consuming, as 2– a large number of accelerated corrosion tests in the automotive
8 years exposure is generally needed for a full assessment of the industry. From the study, it was shown that the results and con-
corrosion resistance. Since, the use of the standard neutral salt spray sequently the prediction on the lifetime of the same material were
test, which is well known to give a poor correlation with field data, a very much dependent on which accelerated corrosion test was used.
large development in the testing procedures has occurred with the The results were explained in terms of different salt loads applied in
use of cyclic corrosion tests, which alternate between pollution the different tests.

1 Introduction In the last few decades, several attempts have been made to
develop more reliable accelerated corrosion tests [1–6]. Most
Corrosion resistance is an important property requirement of these accelerated corrosion tests are cyclic in nature, and
for materials used in the manufacture of automobiles. This is consist of repeated cycles of intermittent exposure to salt
particularly true for vehicles that operate on roads treated solution, elevated humidity/temperature and drying. Today,
with de-icing salt during winter. Hence, automotive materials there are indeed as many accelerated corrosion tests as
have to be tested for their corrosion resistance. The most automotive manufacturers, which are currently used by car
reliable way to do it is to perform field tests, including makers and automotive suppliers in order to develop and
stationary and mobile exposures which are costly and time qualify new products against corrosion, to develop new
consuming. The other alternative is to perform accelerated protective coating systems and select materials: Volvo Car
corrosion tests in a ‘reasonable short’ time while giving a Corporation uses the test standard VCS1027, 149, Renault
realistic ranking of materials, similar to that obtained with the test ECC1 D172028, American producers follow the test
exposure under natural weathering conditions. SAE J2334 (SAE: Society of Automotive Engineers),
The standard neutral salt spray test, e.g. ISO 9227 has been German producers use the test VDA621-415, etc.
used for decades to evaluate the corrosion performance of The aim of the present study is to compare the corrosivity
automotive materials. However, it is well known that it fails of a large number of accelerated corrosion tests on steel and
in reproducing the type of degradation and ranking observed zinc-coated steel materials in cosmetic geometry and crevice
on automotive materials at natural weathering sites and configuration simulating hem flanges.
consequently not recommended to predict the durability of
automotive products. 2 Experimental

N. LeBozec, D. Thierry
French Corrosion Institute, 220 Rue Pierre Rivoalon, F-29200 2.1 Materials
Brest (France)
E-mail: nathalie.lebozec@institut-corrosion.fr Cold-rolled steel (CRS) and hot dip galvanised (HDG,
N. Blandin 10 mm of zinc thickness) steel panels of size 90  190 mm2
PPG Industries France, ZAE les Dix Muids, F-59593 Marly with a phosphating surface treatment coated with an
(France) electrodeposited paint of 20 mm in thickness were used in

www.wiley-vch.de/home/wuk ß 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim


890 LeBozec, Blandin and Thierry Materials and Corrosion 2008, 59, No. 11

the study. Prior to exposure in accelerated corrosion tests, main characteristics of the tests, e.g. temperature, relative
two vertical scribes of 100  0.5 mm2 were applied using an humidity, salt solution, duration, are also given in the table.
Elcometer 1538 tool down to the steel substrate. In addition, a neutral salt spray test according to ISO 9227
CRS crevice panels simulating hem flanges were also (NaCl 5 wt%) was also applied during 6 weeks. As shown in
studied. The design of a representative panel is crucial both Table 1, the tests differ by the composition of salt solution
in terms of reproducibility and in terms of reaching (composition, pH, concentration, deposition rate), the
reasonable corrosion rates under these conditions. Several duration (from 40 up to 70 days), the wet/dry levels and
designs of such panels are available in the literature, e.g. frequency.
panel designed by SAE [7], the Renault crevice panel (used It should be mentioned that the Renault D172028 and
in the present work, see Section 2), the Volvo crevice panel VDA621-415 cyclic tests were performed two times at two
[8] and various designs using spot welded panels (see ref. [9] laboratories.
for an example). Renault design crevice panels were
selected. The panels were laser-cut in order to ensure a 2.3 Evaluations
flat geometry. Then, the samples were assembled to gap 0
and processed using normal procedures (e.g. phosphating The evaluation of the extent of corrosion after the
and electrodeposited primer, 20 mm). The samples were then accelerated corrosion tests is summarised in Table 2 as a
disassembled and a gap ranging from 0 to 250 mm was function of the configuration and substrate. Thus, the metal
obtained by fixing a PTFE spacer on one side of the uncoated loss was calculated by gravimetric method on uncoated
surface. Finally, the samples were assembled with plastic substrates. Scribe creep was measured on coated materials
screws and nuts using a torque of 0.2 Nm. and the average depth of corrosion in CRS crevice panels.
In addition, bare CRS and pure zinc (99.9%) panels of
150  100 mm2 in dimensions were used in triplicates for the
determination of the corrosion rate. These samples were 3 Results
carefully degreased (heptane), weighed and the backside
protected with a tape before the test. 3.1 Corrosion rate of uncoated steel and zinc
Two replicates of each system (uncoated, cosmetic and
crevice) were exposed in the test chambers with an Figure 1 shows the metal loss on CRS and pure zinc panels
orientation of about 20  5 8 to the vertical. after accelerated corrosion tests. Data from field exposures
are also plotted for comparison purpose, e.g. data from yearly
2.2 Accelerated corrosion tests exposures in a marine field station (Brest, France), on
vehicles driven in five different regions where de-icing salt is
The panels were exposed in six accelerated corrosion tests applied (North America and North of Europe) and on
commonly used by automakers as shown in Table 1. The vehicles driven in milder areas. It should be mentioned that

Table 1. Characteristics of accelerated corrosion tests


Test standard Pollution Temperature Relative Test
(8C) humidity (%), duration
Salt solution Frequency Chloride duration (days)
pH deposition deposition
rate in 80 cm2 (mg/cm2),
test

Renault ECC1 NaCl 1 wt%, 30 min/day, 8 35 20, 1 h 35 min 42


D172028 pH 4, 5 mL/h 3.5 h/week 35 55, 2 h 40 min
35 90, 1 h 20 min
Volvo VICT NaCl 1 wt%, 3  15 min 27 45 50, 4 h 42
VCS1027,149 pH 4, 120 mL/h twice a week, 35 95, 4 h
1.5 h/week
VDA621-415 NaCl 5 wt%, 24 h/week 136 40 100, 8 h 70
pH 6.5–7.2, 18–28 50, 16 h
1.5 mL/h 23 50, 48 h
Volkswagen NaCl 5 wt%, 4 h/day (5 days), 68 23 50, 4 h 42
PV1210 pH 6.5–7.2, 20 h/week 40 100, 16 h
1.5 mL/h
General Motors NaCl 0.9 wt%, 4  30 min/day, nd 50 100, 8 h 40
GM9540P CaCl2 0.1 wt%, 14 h/week 60 30, 8 h
(method B) NaHCO3
0.255 wt%,
pH 6–9
Daimler Chrysler NaCl 1 wt%, 2 h/day (4 days), 7.3 15 Up to 50 50–100 42
KWT-DC pH 6.5–7.2, 8 h/week
2 mL/h
Salt spray NaCl 5 wt%, Continuous 383 35 8C nc 28
ISO9227 pH 6.5–7.2,
15 mL/h
nd: not determined; nc: not controlled.

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Materials and Corrosion 2008, 59, No. 11 Accelerated corrosion tests in the automotive industry 891

Table 2. Methods for the evaluation of the extent of corrosion


Configuration Base material Evaluation of

Bare materials - CRS - Metal loss after pickling in Clarks solution(a)


- Zinc - Metal loss after pickling in glycine(b)
Gravimetric method according to ISO 8407
Cosmetic panels CRS and HDG Scribe creep (according to Renault standard 02-00-005)
Crevice panels CRS Steel metal loss after pickling in Clarks solution(a)
using a micrometer gauge from Mitutoyo
(a)
1000 mL hydrochloric acid (HCl, d ¼ 1.19 g/mL), 20 g antimony trioxide (Sb2O3), 50 g tin(II) chloride (SnCl2).
(b)
250 g of glycine (C2H5NO2) in 1 L of demineralised water.

200 (approx. 500 mg/m2, day), the metal loss on


zinc was lower than 3 mm. One reason CRS
180
Zinc
160
could be due to the leaching effect of rain
that rinses the metal surface. Another
140 reason may be attributed to the effect of
Metal loss, µm

120 magnesium cations from seawater aerosols.


A recent paper has indeed shown in
90,0

192,7

100
186,7

laboratory experiments that magnesium


80
145,4

cations inhibit the corrosion of zinc in


131,9
57,8
122,0

51,3
116,9

114,0

the presence of chloride by a factor of about


49,4

60

90,0
9, while it promotes the corrosion of steel
80,0

40
[10].
53,7
47,5

14,1
13,3
13,1
12,0

20
7,6

The ratio of the metal loss CRS/zinc was


6,7

2,5
0,6
7,9

0 plotted as a function of test conditions


stationary site
"de-icing salt
9540P
lab 1

lab 2

PV1210

lab 1

lab 2
ISO 9227

VCS1027, 149

on vehicle in
KWT

on vehicle in

other areas

including field exposures (see Fig. 2). The


areas"

Marine

ratio is almost equal to 1 in a neutral salt spray


test, which indicates that zinc corrodes with a
NSS VDA 621,415 VW Volvo Renault D172028 GM DC Field exposure similar rate as steel. A slightly higher ratio
between 2.4 and 3.8 was observed in
Fig. 1. Corrosion rate of bare CRS and zinc after accelerated corrosion tests. VDA621-415 and PV1210 tests, e.g. in tests
Comparison with field exposures in stationary and on-vehicle conditions where the concentration of NaCl was 5 wt%.
Considering the other cyclic corrosion tests,
the ratio was significantly higher, from 6 to
12 which is also in the range of that obtained
the corrosion rate in NSS test was measured after 4 weeks. after on-vehicle exposures. In order to establish the importance
The figure indicates that the corrosion rates are highly of the salt load in the testing conditions, the ratio of the metal
dependent on testing conditions. Indeed, the metal loss on loss CRS/zinc was expressed as a function of the total amount
bare CRS substrate ranges from approximately 50 mm in of chloride sprayed in the different tests (see Fig. 3). Data from
GM9540P test up to 200 mm after a VDA621-415 test. other tests, e.g. PSA (TCAC D13 5486) and SAE J2334 tests
Similar observations may be drawn for zinc with metal loss are also included in the figure. The results were obtained in
varying from 8 to 90 mm after GM9540P and NSS tests, another work [6]. There is indeed a link between the salt load
respectively. As expected, zinc corrodes with an extremely and the ratio in the corrosion rate of carbon steel and zinc. Tests
high rate in a salt spray test. This is indeed well known as the with the highest salt loads result in the lowest ratio of CRS/zinc.
test conditions with continuous salt application keep zinc in As mentioned previously, such testing conditions which
the active mode. The data also indicate some variations on
steel especially between laboratories and chambers for the
VDA621-415 and Renault ECC1 tests, which are however in Accelerated corrosion tests Field exposure
the range of usual variations in round robin tests. NSS VDA VW GM Renault DC Volvo On-vehicle exp. in Exposure in

Concerning data from yearly field exposures, large ISO 9227 621-415 PV1210 9540P D172028 KWT
"de-icing salt
VCS1027,149 regions"
in mild
regions marine site

differences may be observed upon the conditions of 40


36,0
exposure: stationary situation in marine atmosphere, on- 35

vehicle exposure in region where de-icing salt is applied or 30


in other regions with no road salt application. The highest
Ratio CRS/Zinc

metal loss on steel (approx. 100 mm/year) is observed at the 25

marine stationary site which is characterised by a significant 20

deposition rate of chloride (e.g. 500 mg/m2, day) and high 15 13,2
level of humidity (e.g. 6000 h/year of time of wetness). On 9,3
12,1

8,5
vehicles driven in regions where de-icing salt is applied, the 10
6,2 7,4

metal loss on steel is about 60 mm in 1 year and zinc loss of 5 3,1 3,2
1,4
about 7 mm. Much lower corrosion rates are observed on 0
vehicle driven in regions where road conditions are
significantly hostile. It has to be stressed that despite a Fig. 2. Ratio of the corrosion rate CRS/zinc as a function of test
significant chloride deposition in the marine field station conditions. Comparison with field exposures data

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892 LeBozec, Blandin and Thierry Materials and Corrosion 2008, 59, No. 11

16
Another way to compare the influence of testing conditions
14 SAE J2334 on bare and coated systems is to plot the scribe creep ratio
PSA D135486 CRS/HDG versus the metal loss ratio CRS/zinc as it is
Ratio CRS/Zn (bare metal)

12
Volvo VCS1027,149 presented in Fig. 5. Data from yearly on-vehicle exposures in
10 aggressive and mild environments are also presented. For field
8
KWT-DC data from exposure in regions where de-icing salt is sprayed,
Renault D172028
the deviation was also plotted in order to show that the
6 corrosivity is also very much dependent upon the region
4
(climatic conditions, nature of salt, etc.). Thus, the average
PV 1210
VDA621-415
NSS
value should be considered with its standard deviation.
2 k ) Two groups of tests may be distinguished: (1) testing
0 conditions where a 5 wt% NaCl solution is sprayed and (2)
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 tests with a lower level of NaCl. Again, the second group
Chloride deposition rate, mg/cm² test
gives a better correlation with on-vehicle exposure in regions
Fig. 3. Ratio of the corrosion rate CRS/zinc as a function of where de-icing is applied. However, it should be emphasised
chloride load for the accelerated tests that the first group of tests is consistent with locations where
accumulation of road mud occurs. These particular field data
were measured on samples exposed under busses driven in
30
Sweden and they were located in the front of
CRS the rear left wheel where significant road mud
HDG was thrown [6]. This position may also be
25 defined as a permanently wet position. Indeed,
the coverage of large amounts of mud
20 containing chloride acting as a salt reservoir
Scribe creep,mm

together with the wet position, keeping the


relative humidity at very high levels create
15
favourable conditions for the degradation of
zinc substrates, similar to what is happening in
10 salt spray tests or equivalent conditions.

5
3.3 Metal loss on CRS crevice panels
0
lab 1 lab 2 VCS1027,149 KWT 9540P lab1 lab2 PV1210 ISO9227 Figure 6 presents the metal loss ratio open/
Renault D172028 Volvo DC GM VDA621-415 VW NSS crevice for the different test conditions and
field exposures. Open panels refer to uncoated
Fig. 4. Maximum scribe creep on painted CRS and HDG panels after accelerated or bare CRS steel panels which results of
corrosion tests metal loss were presented in Fig. 1. The plots
allow distinguishing two main groups of tests:

combine important salt load with significant humidity level


keep zinc in active dissolution mode. This is not reflecting 14
conventional car body situations on vehicles. On-vehicle exposure in ‘de-icing salt regions’

12 On-vehicle exposure in mild regions


ratio max delamination on coated CRS/zinc

3.2 Scribe creep on coated panels


On vehicle exposure with important road mud

Considering coated panels, the average and maximum 10


scribe creeps were measured after the different tests
according to Renault standard 02-05-000, e.g. after taking 8
off the delaminated paint area. The results are presented in
GM9540P
Fig. 4 for CRS and HDG substrates. Large differences
KWT-DC
between the testing conditions may be observed. The average 6
delamination on steel substrate ranges from 2 to 10 mm after Volvo
VCS1027,149
NSS and GM9540P tests, respectively, while it covers 2–3 up 4
to 15 mm on HDG panels. In the last case, 2–3 mm
delamination was observed after Renault, Volvo, DC and VDA
GM tests where the salt load is the lowest. In these testing 2 621-415 Renault
conditions, larger scribe creeps were always measured on the D172028
NSS
CRS than on the zinc-coated substrates, which is in good PV1210
0
agreement with data from on-vehicle exposures. It has to be 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14
stressed that opposite results were observed after the other ratio CRS/Zinc on open material
tests all of which include contamination phases with 5 wt%
NaCl (VDA621-415 and PV1210) as well as in NSS test. The Fig. 5. Scribe creep ratio CRS/HDG-coated panels versus metal
results are consistent with those obtained on uncoated loss ratio CRS/zinc on bare substrates for accelerated corrosion
substrates. tests. Comparison with data from on-vehicle exposures

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Materials and Corrosion 2008, 59, No. 11 Accelerated corrosion tests in the automotive industry 893

Accelerated corrosion tests Field exposure


On-
at least during the first hours of drying almost independent of
NSS VDA VW Renault D172028 GM9540 Volvo DC Under bus
Marine
atmos.
vehicle in
Sweden
the crevice width within the range of 100–300 mm.
By exposing crevice panels under moderate corrosion

VCS1027,149

1 year (from
loads and slightly varying humidity condition, Ström and
ISO9227

VCC)
621-415

PV1210

2 years

2 years
9540P

KWT
lab 1

lab 2
Ström have demonstrated that small changes in test
3
conditions can result in significantly different corrosion
Ratio of metal loss Open/Crevice

2,5 propagation modes for CRS as well as on zinc-coated


2
steel [8]. These observations are in good agreement with the
results of the present study where it was observed that the
1,5
corrosion attack highly depends on testing conditions.
1
4 Conclusions
0,5

0 Accelerated corrosion testing is an essential step in the


selection of exposed automotive materials and components
Fig. 6. CRS metal loss ratio open/crevice configuration as a in automotive vehicles. Test conditions shall indeed be able
function of accelerated corrosion tests. Comparison with field data to simulate or at least approximate field performance of
different materials and configurations.
From the results of a large number of accelerated
1) Tests where the ratio open/crevice is much corrosion tests currently used by the automotive industry
larger than one, e.g. where the corrosion and performed in the present study, it can be noted that the
attack is more important on open config- corrosion performance of basic materials, e.g. steel or zinc-
uration than in confined zones. This group coated steel is highly dependent on the testing conditions
includes NSS, VDA621-415 and PV1210 imposed by the standard of the car manufacturer. Thus,
tests, all with high salt load. performing tests with a significant salt load such as NSS,
2) Tests where the ratio open/crevice is equal VDA621-415 or PV1210 will lead to an opposite ranking of
or less than one, e.g. where the corrosion materials than in tests with a lower level of salt represented
rate in confined area is equal or larger than by accelerated corrosion tests performed by DC, GM,
that in open surface. This group includes Renault and Volvo. The corrosion rate of zinc-coated
the tests with a lower salt load, e.g. Volvo, substrates is indeed highly exaggerated in high salt load tests,
Renault, DC and GM tests. which is not reflecting real conditions on vehicles. From the
results, it appears that one system may pass the specifications
The last group of accelerated tests gives results which are in one accelerated test and be rejected in another test. It can
quite consistent with real data either from stationary be acknowledged that the limit of acceptance for a given
exposure or on-vehicle exposures. material is dependent on car manufacture requirements but
It should be mentioned that a similar distribution of tests was the performance ranking shall be comparable as long as the
also noticed when observing the scribe creep results on coated accelerated corrosion test is supposed to ‘simulate’ real
panels (see Fig. 4). conditions. The results have also shown that a continuous
It is indeed well known that a confined surface imposes neutral salt spray test at 5 wt% NaCl should not be used for
significantly different conditions compared to an open the prediction of durability of steel based materials. This is
surface during exposure to alternative wetting and drying. also true for VDA621-415 and PV1210 tests which give quite
The drying rate of a confined surface after immersion in an similar results and ranking of materials. In contrast, KWT-
electrolyte is much slower than that of a surface exposed DC, GM9540P, Renault D172028 and Volvo VCS1027,149
under open conditions [7]. During drying-out, the metal accelerated corrosion tests give consistent life prediction of
surface may be partly covered by an electrolyte. The rate of materials when comparing to field data.
transport of reactants such as oxygen and carbon dioxide
from the air entering the confined space can then determine Acknowledgements: The authors acknowledge the finan-
the corrosion rate. Furthermore, due to the evaporation of cial support of members of ARCOR association through the
water the concentration of electrolyte will increase. These technical committee on accelerated corrosion tests.
conditions lead to an increase in the corrosion rate and they
increase the extent of localised attack on the surface. In 5 References
practical applications, this leads to a rapid degradation of
the material and severe damage to the construction with [1] M. Ström, G. Ström, Presented at Society of Automotive
a rapid degradation at some locations in confined zones
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(e.g. perforation). The situation is different compared to
[2] F. Lutze, C. Meade, K. Smith, L. Mc Quiston, R. Mason, R.
crevice corrosion in a solution due to the drying events that
Singleton, D. Nymberg, C. Handsy, L. Thomson, Presented at
occurs under these conditions. The corrosion during the
drying out of the crevice contributes strongly to the overall Society of Automotive Engineers, Dearborn, MI, USA, 2003,
corrosion attack. It can be expected that the transport of CO2 paper 031234.
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electrolyte [11]. It should also be noted that the same authors [6] N. LeBozec, D. Thierry, Technical Report Nr IC 2007:1,
found that the drying kinetics for confined steel surfaces was French Corrosion Institute, Brest, France, 2007.

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894 LeBozec, Blandin and Thierry Materials and Corrosion 2008, 59, No. 11

[7] F. Zhu, Ph.D. Thesis, Department of Materials and Engineer- [10] T. Prosek, D. Thierry, C. Taxén, J. Maixner, Corros. Sci. 2007,
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(Received: November 23, 2007) W4168
(Accepted: January 2, 2008)

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