Use of surface analysis techniques to determine the mechanisms of metal corrosion in animal buildings

Recognizing the severity of metal corrosion problems in animal buildings has prompted an attempt to finally determine the fundamental causes of corrosion. Based on a two-year field test, this paper investigated the corrosion mechanisms of various metal products exposed in three animal buildings by analyzing the composition of corrosion products, using advanced material surface analysis techniques, including energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (xPS) analyses. Data from these analyses showed that the corrosion products were mainly iron oxides (Fe₂O₃, Fe₃O₄, and FeO) on uncoated 1010 carbon steel and zinc oxides, sulfides, and carbonates on galvanized steel and galvalume (ZnO, ZnS, Zn(CO)₃, and Al₂O₃). Thus, it could be concluded that the fundamental mechanisms of metal corrosion in animal buildings are similar to the classic corrosion mechanisms and the high corrosion rates of metal products in animal buildings are due to the presence of high moisture levels.