Update on the Development of an Improved Cosmetic Corrosion Test by the Automotive and Steel Industries

The American Iron and Steel Institute's (AISI) Task Force on Automotive Corrosion is making significant progress in its continuing efforts towards development of an accelerated laboratory test for ranking the cosmetic corrosion resistance of automotive steel sheet products. This paper provides an overview of this work and reviews major accomplishments to date. Accelerated tests conducted by the AISI and by the SAE's Automotive and Corrosion Prevention Committee (ACAP) Division 3 are compared to long-term on-vehicle exposure tests now in progress for four years in Montreal, Quebec and St. John's Newfoundland. A license-plate exposure test has also been initiated to broaden the basis for real-world performance. Statistical methods for comparing the results of the various tests are described. A designed experiment (Plackett-Burman L8) is underway to evaluate the effects of seven key cycle test parameters on the rankings of the test materials in a laboratory cyclic corrosion test.