Corrosion of Steel and Zinc in Tropics

Mild steel and zinc specimens were tested in five atmospheric testing sites of Vietnam in order to collect the corrosion databank as well as to study the corrosion mechanism in tropical conditions, in period of 1997-2000. The results obtained showed that the corrosion rate of steel is in the range of $10-50\;{\mu}m/year$ and of zinc is of $1-5\;{\mu}m/year$. They are interpretable in the comparison with the data obtained in different countries in the South East Asian as well as previous reports of Vietnamese nation project In atmospheric corrosion. The main factors affecting the corrosion in Vietnam tropical conditions are TOW (time of wetness) and salinity. The relationship between sulfur dioxide and corrosion of metals, particularly, zinc was not found clearly. An explanation was suggested about the complex effect of different pieces present in tropical atmosphere and about the alternative of the dominant factors such as humidity, salinity or temperature.