The corrosion of copper and porous gold in flowing mixed gas environments

Experiments were conducted on the corrosion of materials in a broad variety of single- and multicomponent flowing mixed gas environments. One purpose of the experiments was to document in a consistent manner the corrosion rates and effects which may be expected for different gas mixtures. A second objective was to demonstrate the importance of standardized control materials for documenting environmental tests. The results confirm that flowing mixed gas environments based upon the use of sulfide-chloride synergisms will produce relevant corrosion with useful acceleration factors. Nonchloride environments were shown to be relatively benign. Two materials were demonstrated to be useful for documenting the conditions actually obtained during environmental tests. These are copper and porous gold. Neither alone can present an adequate descriptor of the test conditions actually achieved. Used together, however, they may provide a sensitive indicator of corrosion rates and mechanisms.>