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Investigation of the corrosion of aluminum standing seam roofing at an Army facility

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Abstract
An investigation was conducted to determine the extent of corrosion of an aluminum-seam roofing system exposed to weathering over a period of nearly three years. The aluminum roofing was installed on three large warehouses at an Army facility in Columbus, Ohio. A high performance elastomeric sealant was used in forming the standing seams of the roofing system. The roof slope, about 5%, was less than that usually recommended for unsoldered standing-seam roofing. The roofs were located in a region having a high level of acid rain. In the preliminary study, small scale samples of the same material as the aluminum roofing were exposed on a rack mounted on the roof of one of the warehouses. The extent of corrosion of the roofing system was determined from measurements of mass and observations of the exposed small scalealuminum roofing samples. The change in mass of the exposed samples was compared to that of the control samples. The average rate of mass loss was calcuated to be 0.038 mg/dm squared x day. Low power microscopic observations to determine the surface condition of the exposed samples after nearly three years exposure indicated a loss of gloss, an increase in surface roughness, and many small dark spots. At the dark spots, which were thought to be incipient corrosion, there was essentially no pitting.
Date
6/1986
Author(s)
Robert Mathey
Page(s)
20
Keyword(s)
aluminum; standing seam; metal roofing; corrosion; exposure; weathering


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