See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/271447188

1. “Atmospheric corrosion issues in Abu Dhabi”, Rostron, P. Belbarak, C,

Materials Performance, 54 (1), pp1-7, 2015

Article  in  Materials performance · January 2015

CITATIONS READS
0 314

2 authors, including:

Paul Rostron
Khalifa University
40 PUBLICATIONS   91 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE

Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:

Corrosion flow loop design and build View project

Balraj PhD View project

All content following this page was uploaded by Paul Rostron on 12 January 2016.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

COATINGS & LININGS
Atmospheric Corrosion Issues
in Abu Dhabi
Paul Rostron and Chaima Belbarak,
The Petroleum Institute, Abu Dhabi,
United Arab Emirates
2 JANUARY 2015 MATERIALS PERFORMANCE
Samples of carbon steel were ex-
posed to the atmosphere in Abu
Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, a city
with virtually no rainfall; and corrosion
rates were measured monthly for one
year. Coupons with various angles of
repose (from 0 to 45 degrees), as well
as north-facing and south-facing cou-
pons, were selected for comparison.
The samples were heavily contami-
nated with airborne dust with a high
A
salt content (~2,000 ppm).
Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United
Arab Emirates, is a city on the southern
shore of the Arabian Gulf. The city is an
island separated from the mainland by a
short channel. It is extensively developed,
with a population near 1.2 million that is
anticipated to reach 3.4 million by 2020.
Atmospheric corrosion rates seem to be
very high (Figures 1 through 5). Coated
structures face an extremely aggressive
environment, and once coating failure
occurs, the exposed substrates corrode
rapidly. However, the extremely dry local
climate suggests that corrosion should not
be a problem.1 The region is dominated by
hot, dry desert, with barren sand dunes and
an average rainfall of <30 mm/y.
Abu Dhabi has many examples of corro-
sion caused by salt contamination:
• In Figure 1, a cast aluminum door
handle shows extensive top surface
corrosion.
• In Figure 2, a rarely used walkway suf-
fered complete coating failure and
extensive corrosion of the tread sur-
face after three years of service.
• In Figure 3, a heating, ventilating, and
air conditioning (HVAC) exhaust
duct, constructed out of Type 316L
stainless steel (SS) (UNS S31603),
shows extensive pitting corrosion
after only two years of exposure. Salty
deposits caused by runoff are clearly
visible.
• In Figure 4, a galvanized steel HVAC
duct shows penetrating failure after
three years of service.
• In Figure 5, the roof of a car with one
month’s worth of dust deposition is
shown. Corrosion on the flat surface
is evident, while the rest of the car
shows no corrosion at all.
Corrosion rates were measured for
uncoated metal samples exposed to this
environment in a study that attempted to
identify the source of the unexpectedly
high observed rates and suggest possible
remedial actions. The factors that were
expected to affect corrosion included the
angle of exposure, season, and orientation
(north/south and top/underside). The
eventual objective is to develop a corrosion
rate map of the United Arab Emirates, as
was recently done for Kuwait.2
Atmospheric corrosion has been
intensely investigated, and the subject is
discussed in an extensive collection of lit-
erature. 3 To compare atmospheric corro-
sion rates between different localities,
there are standard testing protocols for
sample preparation, testing locality, and
height above ground.4
For this study, all exposure samples
NACE INTERNATIONAL: VOL. 54, NO. 1
FIGURE 1 Cast door handle showing extensive top surface corrosion. FIGURE 3 A two-year-old Type 316L SS HVAC duct showing salt rime
and pitting.

FIGURE 4 A galvanized steel HVAC duct showing corrosion failure after

three years of exposure.

FIGURE 2 A rarely used, three-year-old walkway with total coating failure. FIGURE 5 One month of dust deposition on the roof of a car in Abu
Dhabi. Also shown are corrosion spots after five years of exposure.

NACE INTERNATIONAL: VOL. 54, NO. 1 MATERIALS PERFORMANCE JANUARY 2015 3

COATINGS & LININGS
FIGURE 6 Corrosion rates for CS samples by month.
were fixed to a wooden exposure platform
located on the roof of a three-story build-
ing. The samples were supported 10 mm
above the rack by rubber washers to pre-
vent crevice corrosion. Thick rubber wash-
ers were used to eliminate any possibility of
galvanic corrosion between the mounting
hardware and the exposure panels. Since
the platforms remained fixed for the dura-
tion of the study, factors such as location
and local environment did not affect the
results. The principal aim was to identify
the parameters that, based on observation,
seemed to increase the severity of atmo-
spheric corrosion—in particular, the dust
contamination that is an endemic problem
in the country.
Angle of Repose
Flat surfaces seem to corrode faster
than vertical surfaces, as can be seen in Fig-
ure 1. The top surface of the door handle
has suffered extensive corrosion, while the
underside looks relatively uncorroded.
Three different angles of repose were con-
sidered: horizontal (0), and 30 and 45
degrees from horizontal.
Direction
Two 30-degree-angle holders were
arranged to face back-to-back and oriented
in a north/south direction.
4 JANUARY 2015 MATERIALS PERFORMANCE
Top vs. Underside Surface
Dust contamination is widespread,
even on the top of a three-story building.
Top surfaces are regularly exposed to dust
accumulation, as can be seen in Figure 5,
which shows dust accumulated on a car
parked in a shaded, unsealed garage after
one month of exposure. The original color
of the car can be seen in the finger streak.
Seasonal Variation
Samples were exposed and evaluated
for each month throughout one year, as
well as a six-month exposure and a one-
year exposure.
Methodology
Uniform representative samples of car-
bon steel (CS) were prepared and cleaned
per ASTM STP 435.4 Each sample was cut
from 2-mm thick sheet metal and the edges
ground to dimensions of 50 by 70 mm to
remove the effect of shear cutting, which
would have left the edges more active than
the sheet. Clean, degreased samples were
held in a wooden frame and secured to it by
means of two isolating washers (each 5-mm
thick) at each corner. The washers were
secured to the frame by galvanized nuts,
bolts, and washers, taking care to avoid
metallic contact between the metal fasten-
ers and the coupons to prevent galvanic
corrosion. The underside was open to the
air. The rubber washers were tightly bolted
to ensure there was no possibility of crevice
corrosion, and no evidence of crevice cor-
rosion was observed on any of the samples.
The roof of a building was chosen as the
testing location to be away from interven-
tion. The height above grade was ~15 m.
This allowed the samples to be exposed to
true airborne dust and eliminate any
effects of ground dust.
Samples were exposed to the environ-
ment for different durations—monthly, six-
month, and yearly exposures—at 0, 30, and
45 degree angles of repose. The default
position faced south, but an additional set
of samples was set at 30 degrees and faced
north.
After exposure, the samples were
cleaned using ASTM G15 to determine the
weight loss. The cleaning process must be
sufficiently aggressive to dissolve the cor-
rosion products without removing any of
the uncorroded metal. Uncorroded sam-
ples were exposed to the same cleaning
protocol to measure any mass loss.
The cleaning protocol was modified
where necessary to reduce mass losses to
a minimum.
The method chosen to minimize errors
in weighing these relatively large samples
included cathodic protection (CP). CS cou-
pons were immersed in 10% sulfuric acid
(H2SO4), and a CP voltage of –1.5 to –2.0 V
was applied by an external power source.
Samples were immersed for 20 min, fol-
lowed by light scrubbing with green pan
scourers. For particularly stubborn depos-
its, the process was repeated until clean
grey metal was achieved.
For the monthly exposures, the samples
were examined for surface damage after
removal of corrosion products. If a sample’s
surface was uniformly corroded with no
signs of pitting, it was reused for subse-
quent months.
Blank (uncorroded) samples exposed to
this protocol lost <0.0001 g per cycle. This
proved to be an effective cleaning protocol
but was highly labor intensive and very
much dependent on qualified operators for
reproducibility.
NACE INTERNATIONAL: VOL. 54, NO. 1
 Atmospheric Corrosion Issues in Abu Dhabi

TABLE 1. DUST CHLORIDE TABLE 2. CHLORIDE CONTENT IN DIFFERENT DEPOSITS AROUND

CONCENTRATIONS
Month Chloride (µg/g)
June 1,842
July 1,795
August 1,844
September 1,783
October 1,943
November 2,034
December 355
January 1,447
February 2,035
March 1,832
April 1,792
May 2,025
Results and Calculations
As expected, the CS samples showed a
relatively high rate of corrosion. There was
little monthly variation. October showed a
higher corrosion rate, but otherwise the rate
was relatively constant throughout the year.
The full-year exposure coupon showed a
lower overall corrosion rate. The monthly
and yearly results are summarized in Figure 6.
Upon examination of the test samples,
the following observations were made:
• Even after only one month of expo-
sure, the samples were covered in a
layer of fine dust deposited from the
air. There were no sandstorms during
the trial, so this dust was the ubiqui-
tous dust found around Abu Dhabi.
The dust was not due to local wind
effects whipping up surface dust.
• The corrosion was uniform across
the coupon surface.
• There was a significant difference
between the top and bottom surfaces,
with the top surface showing a thick
layer of hard, adherent rust. The
underside was only lightly rusted
with a loose, flaky rust.
• The one-year exposure coupons had
an extremely hard corrosion product
(scale) that was difficult to remove.
The inner layer was black, indicating
AREAS OF INTEREST
Location
Ground level fine dust scraped from a windowsill
Ground level wind blown sand in lee of curbstone
Roof level dust collected from flat painted surface
Roof level dust scraped from flat corroded galvanized steel
AC duct
Concave depression in galvanized steel AC duct
the formation of magnetite. The cor-
rosion rate was lower than the aver-
age of the monthly corrosion rates,
and possibly related to the slightly
protective properties of the scale.
To calculate the penetration rate from
(corrected) mass loss measurements, the
following calculation was performed:
  Penetration rate = KW/ATD  (1)
where K = 3.45 × 106 for penetration rates in
mpy and K = 8.74 × 104 for penetration rate
measurements in mm/y–1, W = weight loss
(g), A = surface area of the sample (cm2),
T = time of exposure (h), and D = metal
density (g/cm3).
Further Analysis
Interesting observations identified dur-
ing the course of the experiment led to fur-
ther investigations into the phenomena.
Topside and Underside Corrosion
Rate Comparison
The difference in corrosion rates
between the top and bottom surfaces was
clearly significant; therefore, extra experi-
ments were performed to quantify this dif-
ference. Identical coupons of CS cut from
the same stock sheet were cleaned and
degreased as before, and then one side was
protected from the environment using lac-
quer paint. The samples were left to dry
thoroughly overnight in an oven at 40 °C
and then exposed in the 0-degree elevation
Chloride Concentration
(µg/g) (Average of
Three Readings)
1,882
475.3
2,505
52.18
72.43
position, one sample with the exposed side
on top and the other with the exposed side
underneath. The samples were exposed for
one month and then the corrosion product
removed as before, with extra care taken to
ensure the lacquer was not damaged. After
cleaning, the lacquer was inspected to
ensure no damage had occurred and then
the mass loss was measured. The compari-
son showed that 95% of the corrosion
occurred on the top surface of the metal.
Dust Composition
Dust samples were collected for analy-
sis to try to understand the effect it has on
atmospheric corrosion rates.
The dust fizzes in the presence of
hydrochloric acid (HCl), and the gas
released causes lime water to cloud, indi-
cating that a portion of the dust is calcium
carbonate (CaCO3). This is expected since
the majority of rocks present are limestone.
There is also evidence of the formation of
limestone in the water. The beaches in the
area are a combination of oolitic limestone
and silica sand. The dust also contains
traces of silica. Dust samples were also
titrated for chloride, and the chloride
results are recorded in Table 1.
In addition to the dust settling on the
coupons, dust samples from various loca-
tions around the test site were also ana-
lyzed for chloride content. The problem
with these dust samples was uncertainty as
to the amount of time they might have been
exposed to rain, which could have leached

NACE INTERNATIONAL: VOL. 54, NO. 1 MATERIALS PERFORMANCE JANUARY 2015 5

COATINGS & LININGS
FIGURE 7 Average annual temperature for Abu Dhabi.6
chlorides out of them. Two types of dust
were identified at ground level: a very fine
powdery dust (similar to the dust accumu-
lated on the coupons), and a coarse, sandy
material only found at ground level and not
seen on rooftops. Both types were analyzed
for chloride content and the data appear in
Table 2. Dust found on galvanized steel
structures contained a minimal amount of
chlorides, but these galvanized steel struc-
tures suffered from extensive corrosion. It
is possible that the chlorides had already
reacted to form a hard, adherent layer that
was not scraped off, resulting in low chlo-
ride measurements in the collected sam-
ples. The fine, powdery dust had a chloride
content very similar to that found on the
coupons. The windblown sand had lower
chloride content, primarily because there
was more silica present.
Calculation Example
Samples of dust were collected by
means of a conical flask and filter funnel.
This trapped airborne dust and any rain.
Samples were titrated against a silver
nitrate solution (1.252 E-3M) using a potas-
sium chromate (VI) indicator. For a dust
sample of 0.1508 g and a titration volume of
6.05 mL, a typical calculation (e.g., Septem-
ber) was:
6 JANUARY 2015 MATERIALS PERFORMANCE
[1.254E-3 M Ag+] × [6.05/1000 L] × [35.453
 g/mol Cl] × [1/0.1508 g dust] = 1783 µg Cl–/g (2)
Discussion of Results
The uniform corrosion of CS samples
was remarkably consistent. There was little
seasonal variation. Very little corrosion was
found on the undersides of the coupons.
There is some evidence that fall and spring
exhibit slightly higher corrosion rates. Dur-
ing these seasons, the temperature changes
from hot to cold (Figure 7), and is often
accompanied by nighttime fog. Condensa-
tion could be responsible for the higher
corrosion found during these times. The
effect of climate will be investigated in
greater detail in further research.
During the rest of the year, the relative
humidity (RH) varies from a daytime low of
<50% to a nighttime high of >80%. During
the day, the humidity is low enough for salt
deposits to dry out completely and be
blown around by the strong winds that
occur in the late afternoon. At night, the
humidity is high enough for salt deposits to
form a saturated brine on the surface of the
sample, causing rapid corrosion. Govern-
ment data6 on average high and low humid-
ity bears this out and is shown in Figure 8.
The angle of repose had a slight effect
on corrosion rates. The steeper the angle,
the lower the corrosion rate. This effect is
caused by the reduced ability of angled cou-
pons to allow dust to settle on them. This
result was also reinforced by the compari-
son of top vs. underside corrosion rates,
with 95% of the corrosion of a flat sample
occurring on the top side.
Conclusions
Abu Dhabi is in a hot, dry desert with
minimal rainfall. However, the coastal loca-
tion means that there are variations in
RH—often low during the daytime when
temperatures are warm enough for salt to
dry out completely, yet high at night when
conditions are foggy or cool enough for
moisture to condense and form a thin film
of corrosive brine on metal surfaces. Con-
sequently, Abu Dhabi should be considered
a marine environment with coatings for-
mulations used with this in mind. Regular
cleaning of structures should be performed
to clean off the dust deposits. Not only is
the dust unsightly, but it is a significant
contributor to corrosion. No work has been
reported to date on the chloride concentra-
tion of airborne dust in the United Arab
Emirates. Further work aimed at producing
a corrosion map of the country should fol-
low protocols similar to those used in this
study (with six-month averaging) and also
consider the chloride content of airborne
dust around the country. More efficient
methods for cleaning CS samples might
include blast cleaning with either solid car-
bon dioxide (CO2) or sodium bicarbonate
(NaHCO 3), which would avoid damaging
the steel and leave no blast profile.
References
1 “Annual Bulletin of Environmental Statistics
2009,” Statistic Centre Abu Dhabi, December
2010.
2 H.M. Shalaby, F. Al-Sabti, K. Al-Muhanna,
“Atmospheric Corrosion Mapping of Kuwait,”
CORROSION 2007, paper no. 07342 (Hous-
ton, TX: NACE International, 2007).
3 R. Baboian, ed., Corrosion Tests and Stan-
dards (West Conshohocken, PA: ASTM Inter-
national, 2005), pp. 343-348.
4 “Metal Corrosion in the Atmosphere,” ASTM
International, Special Publication No. 435,
1968.
NACE INTERNATIONAL: VOL. 54, NO. 1
 Atmospheric Corrosion Issues in Abu Dhabi

5 ASTM G1-03 (2011), “Standard Practice for

Preparing, Cleaning, and Evaluating Corro-
sion Test Specimens” (West Conshohocken,
PA: ASTM International, 2011).
6 “High and Low Relative Humidity for Abu
D habi ,” http://n e w.ncms.a e/climat e/
climateData.asp?id=26 (March 20, 212).
6 “Cleaning Protocols for Atmospheric Corro-
sion Rates,” ASTM G1 (West Conshohocken,
PA: ASTM International).

PAUL ROSTRON is an assistant professor

of chemistry at The Petroleum Institute,
Um al Naar, Abu Dhabi, 2533, United Arab
Emirates, e-mail: prostron@pi.ac.ae. He
has worked in the fields of chemistry and
corrosion research since 1996. He has
published in excess of 50 research papers
and conference presentations. His primary
FIGURE 8 Average annual RH for Abu Dhabi.6
research interests are the causes and
mitigation of corrosion. He is in high
demand as an international speaker on
the subject. He received the NACE West
Asia and Africa Region Award for Techni-
cal Achievement in 2012 and has a B.Sc.,
Ph.D., MRSC, and MICorr certification. He
is a nine-year member of NACE Interna-
tional.

CHAIMA BELBARAK was a student at The

Petroleum Institute at the time of this
research project.

NACE INTERNATIONAL: VOL. 54, NO. 1 MATERIALS PERFORMANCE JANUARY 2015 7

View publication stats