When you regularly deal with equipment and components made of metal, especially when dealing with heavy machinery, it’s important to understand everything that could affect them. When it comes to choosing the right alloy for your machinery or components, you need to consider the environment that they’ll be in for the majority of their use. We’ll take you through some of the factors that create a corrosive environment for metals so you can know what to expect if you have one.
Salinity
A common factor that creates corrosive environments for metals that we consider here at Wieland Diversified is the salinity of the environment surrounding the metals. We frequently deal with clients that require alloys that are highly resistant to corrosion from salt because they use them in marine or coastal environments. Sodium chloride is highly corrosive to certain metals over time, so many of our alloys must be fabricated with this in mind.
Moisture Exposure
Exposure to sodium chloride isn’t the only issue that one runs into when dealing with metals in coastal areas or with marine uses. Whether it is saltwater or not, water is highly corrosive to many raw metals. The key factor here is how long the metal is exposed to this moisture. If your machinery will rarely get wet, this is less of an issue. However, for marine and naval purposes, this is a huge factor when it comes to developing alloys that can stand being in water for extended periods of time.
Atmospheric Pollutants
Water and salt are perhaps two of the more well-known corrosive elements, but there is another that is far more common in factories. Industrial environments often create emissions that can also have a corrosive effect on metal machinery. In small bursts, this wouldn’t be much of a problem. However, the consistent emission of pollutants we see in factories or power plants can create a highly corrosive environment. Dust particulates are another atmospheric pollutant that comes with industrial machinery. When these particulates, such as sulfates, chlorides, or metal oxides, come into contact with the air or water, they can also contribute to oxidation and rust.
Knowing what kind of environments are more corrosive than others will help you figure out if you need a specific type of metal for your own uses. Whether you need naval brass, copper nickel alloys, or any other alloys for your components, Wieland Diversified will be there to provide the highest quality metals possible.