Standardisation of Corrosion Testing Methods

Corrosion testing methods are like systems of units comparable testing results from different laboratories can be obtained only on the basis of common, standardised testing methods. The first systematic tests of atmospheric corrosion of steel were launched in the United States by ASTM [11]. 

The first ASTM standard on salt spray testing goes back to the 1930s. 

In the early 1920s, when corrosion studies of common metals became important, working groups of corrosion experts and metallurgists from several aluminium-producing companies were set up in order to develop corrosion testing methods common to all 

Standardisation may focus on the testing equipment, such as chambers for salt spray testing, and on the testing protocol. In order to limit the dispersion of the results, the testing conditions define as precisely as possible the sample preparation, the chemicals, the test duration, the expression of results, etc. 

The development of a testing method often requires a considerable amount of work done in several laboratories, until the test truly reflects the susceptibility to a given form of corrosion such as exfoliation corrosion. 

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