The erosive wear and corrosion behavior of zinc- and aluminum-coated steels in simulated coastal environment

The telecommunication systems outside plants are made of a variety of materials; metals, alloys, polymers, concrete and so on. The interaction between the outside plant metal components and the environment leads to various types of corrosion. Metal-coated steel wires are widely used as supports for telecommunication cables. In coastal areas the metal-coated steel wire corrodes and even fractures in a short time. A two-step laboratory test, salt-spray after sand blast, was designed to simulate windy coastal environments and this test was adopted to evaluate the zinc- and aluminum-coated steel. This paper describes the mutual action of sand abrasion and marine corrosion that can lead to premature failure of the metallic coatings in the tropical coastal area. The results also show that the aluminum-coated steel performed only 60% better than the zinc-coated steel. Also it was found the erosive wear of zinc- and aluminum-coated steels fit a ductile-cutting model.