Prediction of atmospheric corrosion from meteorological parameters: Case of the atmospheric basin of the Costa Rican Western Central Valley

Abstract

The assessment of atmospheric corrosion is currently based on studies of atmospheric basins (AB). The models applied to the estimation of atmospheric corrosion imply measurements of several meteorological and atmospheric pollution parameters, which make the estimation complex. The main meteorological parameters to be considered in tropical atmospheric corrosion are associated with temperature (T) and relative humidity (RH). These parameters are also included in the calculation of the time of humidification (TDH). In addition, the atmospheric pollutants associated with corrosion are chloride (Cl) and sulphur dioxide (SO2). The Western Central Valley (WCV) in Costa Rica is a low-pollution AB; therefore, it is possible to employ simplified atmospheric corrosion models based on few atmospheric parameters. The meteorological parameters of the study region were analyzed in terms of their dependence on altitude and their applicability in simplified empirical equations of the corrosion rate (Vcorr) for the WCV. These simple relations were compared with the model proposed by the ISO 9223-2012 standard.