INTERNATIONAL ISO

STANDARD 11845

Second edition
2020-03

Corrosion of metals and alloys —

General principles for corrosion testing
Corrosion des métaux et alliages — Principes généraux des essais de
corrosion

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Reference number
ISO 11845:2020(E)

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Contents Page

Foreword......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... iv
Introduction...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................v
1 Scope.................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 1
2 Normative references....................................................................................................................................................................................... 1
3 Terms and definitions...................................................................................................................................................................................... 1
4 General principles................................................................................................................................................................................................ 1
5 Materials........................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 2
6 Corrosive medium................................................................................................................................................................................................ 3
7 Test procedure......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 3
8 Test report.................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 5
Annex A (informative) General requirements for corrosion tests under constant immersion
for a specific purpose....................................................................................................................................................................................... 7
Bibliography.............................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 10

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Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national standards
bodies (ISO member bodies). The work of preparing International Standards is normally carried out
through ISO technical committees. Each member body interested in a subject for which a technical
committee has been established has the right to be represented on that committee. International
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ISO collaborates closely with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) on all matters of
electrotechnical standardization.
The procedures used to develop this document and those intended for its further maintenance are
described in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1. In particular, the different approval criteria needed for the
different types of ISO documents should be noted. This document was drafted in accordance with the
editorial rules of the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2 (see www​.iso​.org/​directives).
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of
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This document was prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 156, Corrosion of metals and alloys.
ISO 11845:2020
This second edition cancels and replaces the first edition (ISO 11845:1995), which has been technically
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revised. The main changes compared with ed0f1dd3cc7d/iso-11845-2020
the previous edition are as follows:
— the format has been changed;
— Annex A has been added with general requirements for corrosion tests under constant immersion.
Any feedback or questions on this document should be directed to the user’s national standards body. A
complete listing of these bodies can be found at www​.iso​.org/​members​.html.

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Introduction
The existence of a wide range of corrosion tests, partly as a function of the various materials and
corrosive media in existence, calls for guidance in the general procedures that should be used. Corrosion
tests, if they are to evaluate and give comparable results, are carried out in accordance with established
conditions. Conditions deviating from these conditions are precisely quoted, taking into account all the
details given in this document. The most relevant results on corrosion behaviour of metals can normally
be obtained from long-term tests under conditions close to those obtained in practice.

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INTERNATIONAL STANDARD ISO 11845:2020(E)

Corrosion of metals and alloys — General principles for

corrosion testing

1 Scope
This document specifies general principles for carrying out corrosion tests under conditions of constant
immersion. Some of these general principles are applicable to other types of corrosion testing.
This document does not cover important procedures for stress corrosion testing, such as those given in
ISO 7539 (all parts).

2 Normative references
The following documents are referred to in the text in such a way that some or all of their content
constitutes requirements of this document. For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For
undated references, the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.
ISO 8044, Corrosion of metals and alloys — Vocabulary
ISO 8407, Corrosion of metals and alloys — Removal of corrosion products from corrosion test specimens
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3 Terms and definitions (standards.iteh.ai)
For the purposes of this document, the terms and definitions given in ISO 8044 apply.
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ISO and IEC maintain terminologicaled0f1dd3cc7d/iso-11845-2020
databases for use in standardization at the following addresses:
— ISO Online browsing platform: available at https://​w ww​.iso​.org/​obp
— IEC Electropedia: available at http://​w ww​.electropedia​.org/​

4 General principles

4.1 Corrosion tests are generally carried out as comparative tests, i.e. a number of materials or corrosive
media are compared under the given test conditions. It is, however, also advisable to include reference
materials or reference solutions in which the behaviour under practical conditions of attack are known.
It is important to have a clear understanding of the objectives of any corrosion testing programme and to
make a judicious choice of the most practical methods in order to evaluate corrosion damage.

4.2 During the tests, the degree of attack as a function of time is observed and, as far as possible,
quantitatively recorded. The objective of most types of testing should be to determine the state of the
specimens on more than three separate occasions apart from the start of the test. The duration of tests
should be such that, on completion of the test, a clear result is obtained concerning the behaviour of
the material and, where applicable, the reference material under the given test conditions. If necessary,
additional tests extending beyond the time originally planned should be required.

4.3 Because results often exhibit considerable scatter, a single value provides little useful information.
For this reason, whenever possible, every test result should be verified by taking the mean of at least
three tests per measurement point. For this purpose, each specimen should be used only once.

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4.4 The test conditions should, as far as possible, be matched to the practical conditions under which
the material and the corrosive media will be used, except for short-duration tests as detailed in 4.5. This
applies:

a) to the material, in relation to its shape, surface condition, grain structure, etc., for details see
Clause 5;
b) to the corrosive medium, in relation to concentration, temperatures, etc., for details see Clause 7.

4.5 In the case of short-duration corrosion tests, the object is to achieve usable results in the shortest
possible time by intensifying the attack conditions. However, intensification of the attack conditions, e.g.
by increasing the temperature or concentration of the corrosive medium, often gives results that do not
correspond to behaviour under practical conditions. Care shall therefore be exercised when applying
such results in practice.

4.6 Particular care is necessary when applying the results of accelerated corrosion tests to practical
conditions since, with this type of corrosion test, corrosion media differing from those occurring in
practice are often used.

4.7 For the specific purpose, the material, the corrosive medium, the ratio of solution volume to surface
area, the surface area, the temperature, the agitation, the test duration, the evaluation, and the corrosion
form should be in accordance with the International Standards given in Annex A.

5 Materials iTeh STANDARD PREVIEW

5.1
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Test specimens shall be clearly identified. The following information should be given, when
applicable:
ISO 11845:2020
a) chemical composition of the material and the appropriate designation, according to the relevant
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international, regional or national standards;
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b) condition of the material and fabrication details (e.g. presence of welds, sand cast, gravity die
cast, pressure die cast, hot rolled, cold rolled, forged, heat-treatment, whether naturally or
artificially aged);
c) form of material (sheet, wire, tube, solid bars or similar);
d) position and orientation of the specimens in the original material (with a sketch if necessary);
e) dimensions (exact size, shape, area) and mass of specimens;
f) condition of the surface of the material (with or without rolling skin, thickness of rolling skin,
pickled, ground, polished, or other pretreatment);
g) mechanical properties of the material;
h) structure of the material, including any chemical or mechanical pretreatment;
i) protective layers and coatings (type, composition and thickness).

5.2 The method of producing the specimens from the test piece should be documented. Specimens
should preferably be taken from the test piece in such a manner as to exclude the effect of any significant
additional mechanical cold working and any substantial temperature rise at the cut edges during
machining. Any burr at the cut edges produced when the specimen is obtained should be removed. In
general, it is necessary to protect the edges where it is likely that unwanted effects on the corrosion
behaviour of the material being tested should originate at the edges (e.g. in the case of coated specimens).

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5.3 In the case of corrosion tests under conditions close to those obtained in practice, the surface
condition of the specimens should be the same as that found in practical application.

5.4 In general, specimens should be cleaned and degreased. The choice of suitable cleaning or
degreasing agents depends on the material being tested. Only products that do not alter the surface of
the part being tested should be used. In most cases, organic solvents are used. The cleaning agent used
should be reported.

5.5 If the specimen surface has to be mechanically pretreated, this should preferably be done by
grinding, with each step removing damage from the previous step. The grade of the final abrasive used
should be reported. Machining is preferable to grinding for soft metals.

5.6 Specimens should be clearly marked, for example by stamping with numbers or letters. Since the
mechanical stress resulting from stamping with numbers or letters can initiate local corrosion, in the
case of particularly sensitive materials, and under defined test conditions, it is desirable to use a method
of marking which does not involve any cold working, e.g. electro-mechanical marking or notching of
specimens. It should be necessary to carry out heat treatment of the specimen after marking.

6 Corrosive medium

6.1 The corrosive medium shall be clearly described. In particular, the origin, composition, method of
preparation and condition of the corrosive medium should be quoted.
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6.2 The information on the origin of the corrosive medium should state whether the solutions used are
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of natural origin, normally occurring in technical processes or whether they are specially manufactured.

6.3 Where the quantitative chemical composition ISO 11845:2020

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6.4 In the case of aqueous solutions, the pH value and, if possible, the redox potential should be given.

6.5 In the case of solutions, the results are often influenced by the amount of dissolved gases contained;
in the case of gases, by the moisture and solid matter contained; in the case of solids, by the moisture
content. Hence, these components also should be taken into account.

6.6 If the corrosive medium is significantly altered as a result of the corrosion reaction, evaporation or
condensation it should be replaced or replenished during the test so that the environmental conditions
remain constant. The test report should state whether, how often and to what extent the corrosive
medium has been replaced or replenished.

7 Test procedure

7.1 For general requirements for corrosion tests under constant immersion, the material, the corrosive
medium, the ratio of solution volume to surface area, the surface area, the temperature, the agitation,
the test duration, the evaluation, and the corrosion form should be in accordance with the International
Standards given in Annex A.

7.2 The quantity of the corrosive medium shall be a defined ratio of volume to surface area of the
specimen. This ratio should normally be at least 5 ml/cm2.

7.3 In order to exclude the effect of irregularities as far as possible, the total exposed surface area of
each specimen should normally be not less than 25 cm2 except where smaller surface areas are specified
in special test regulations. The total exposed surface area for electrochemical testing is usually much less.

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