On the Electrical Conduction Characteristics of Commercially Available Good Conductors Subjected to Saline-Water Corrosion

A new experimental study has been conducted on the electrical conduction characteristics of commercially available good conductors subjected to saline water corrosion. More specifically, the corrosion behaviour of two commercially available electrical conductors, namely aluminium and copper in 3.5% sodium chloride solution is first studied at standard room temperature using conventional gravimetric as well as optical micrographic analyses. The corroded conductors are then investigated to determine the effect of exposure time in the corrosive environment on the change in their material properties related to electrical conduction. Measurements of both the dc and ac properties of the conductors are realized in order to analyze them in a comparative fashion, which include material resistivity as well as permittivity and impedance as a function of a wide range of applied frequency. Corrosions of different nature are encountered for the two conductors when exposed to the same corrosive environment, which is, however, verified to cause significant changes in the frequency responses of the materials, especially in the low frequency range.