The effect of corrosion on shielding effectiveness of a zinc-coated steel enclosure

A typical enclosure for information technology (IT) equipment is made of various sub-assemblies such as enclosure cases, gaskets and I/O connectors. Inter-metallic junctions may get corroded and the shielding effectiveness of the enclosure may deteriorate. The consequent shielding degradation is the primary focus of this study. The relationship between corrosion and the shielding effectiveness of a zinc coated steel enclosure over the frequency spectrum has previously been studied. In this paper the study has been extended with experimental modeling of the corrosive phenomena. A series of experiments were conducted to investigate the rate of corrosion and their contributing causes and effects. The nature of corrosive residues and cavities were analyzed to understand the process.