A microscopic study of the effects of particle size and composition of atmospheric aerosols on the corrosion of mild steel

A novel approach to measure the corrosion effects of aerosols as a function of their aerodynamic size and chemical composition was used to study the effects of atmospheric aerosols on mild steel at a rural coastal site. The technique uses collocated micro-orifice uniform deposition impactor samplers to deposit ambient atmospheric particles on exposure steel coupons and collect aerosol samples for ionic analyses. Rusts were found on the coupons with aerosols but none on the blank coupons even the blanks were incubated at the same conditions. FTIR analysis shows that the composition of rusts changes gradually with the aerosol particle size.