Atmospheric Corrosion of Aluminum Alloy 3105 in Coastal Environments: Interim Report After 15 Months Exposure

Abstract

In May of 1994, racks of corrosion samples were installed along the Oregon coast. The aluminum alloy 3105 samples were mounted on utility poles in Astoria, Manzanita, Lincoln City, Gold Beach, Brookings, Portland, and Albany. At each coastal location, samples were placed on four different poles at various distances from the coast (from as near as 50 feet to as far as 5 miles). The inland sites (Portland and Albany) have only one pole per site and are used as control sites. Besides the 3105 alloys, 5052 and 6061 aluminum alloys were placed at all sites. Since installation, one rack was lost due to the pole being taken down by the phone company (in Lincoln City), but the rest of the poles and racks are still in place.<br> <br> In August of 1995, the aluminum samples were visually inspected, and the remaining six 3105 aluminum samples in Lincoln City were removed for laboratory examination. Non-destructive x-ray analysis was used on the Lincoln City samples to obtain information a bout the nature of the corrosion products. Because the analysis was performed while the corrosion products remained on the surface, aluminum peaks dominated the diffraction pattern, and relative peak-heights were different from normal. Nevertheless, some minerals were identified as part of the corrosion products.