Chapter 23: Corrosion of Metals in Wood Products

Abstract

The corrosion of metals in contact with wood has been studied for over 80 years, and in most situations wood is not corrosive [1]. Recently, however, the durability of fasteners in preservative--treated wood has become a concern. Changes in legislation and certification in the United States, the European Union, and Australasia have restricted the use of chromated copper arsenate (CCA), which was previously the most extensively used waterborne wood preservative [2, 3]. Following these changes, several different wood preservatives have come to the market, some of which are much more corrosive than CCA [4-7]. Although a lot of recent research has been conducted in this area, no attempt has been made to summarize all the recent advances, and confusion exists about the corrosiveness of alternatives to CCA and proper materials selection for use in treated wood. In this chapter, we summarize information on why metals corrode in wood, how fast this corrosion occurs, and techniques to minimize corrosion in wood products.

Citation

Zelinka, Samuel L. 2014. Corrosion of Metals in Wood Products. Chapter 23 In: Aliofkhazraei, M., ed., Developments in Corrosion Protection. ISBN: 978-953-51-1223-5. London: InTech. pp. 567-592.