What is corrosion?

Corrosion is the gradual destruction of materials (usually referring to metals and alloys) caused by chemical reactions in their environment.

Most metals or alloys only corrode due to exposure to moisture in the air, but this process is strongly affected by contact with specific substances. When an object corrodes to a certain extent, it will form depressions or cracks, or expand over a large area, and these corrosions mostly occur on the surface of the object.

Because corrosion is a specific diffusion process that only occurs on the surface of exposed objects. This form of destruction will form oxides or salts of the metal. Corrosion can also occur on non-metallic materials such as ceramics or polymer compounds, and degradation is more common among them. Corrosion causes damage to the effective components and structure of materials, such as strength, appearance, and permeability to liquids and gases.

Due to the widespread use of such materials in products, from metal structures to construction engineering, from shipbuilding to metallurgical engineering, and so on, the impact of corrosion is self-evident.

Therefore, research on metals or alloys aims to find their optimal lifecycle through surface protection.

Corrosion testing can be traced back to 1982, according to the standard EN ISO 4628-2. Afterwards, starting from 1990, the standards were gradually updated, such as EN ISO 9227 and EN 1670. Referring to American standards, the above-mentioned EU standards can also be directly referenced to standard B-117.

The Italian European Certification Organization (ECO) has a 400 lt test chamber capable of cyclic neutral salt spray corrosion testing (NSS). According to the Building Products Regulation 305/2011, ECO has obtained official authorization for EN 1670 and EN ISO 9227 standards, and can certify single axis hinges in accordance with EN 1935.