Study of uncertainty in atmospheric corrosion rate of floe carbon steel

The confidence interval of measurements of corrosion rate has been barely reported in the literature. It is a function of both the number of probes and the underlying pdf. We have performed specific experiments with a lot more probes than the standards require, and we evaluated, for exposure times of 1, 2, 3 and 7 months, the effect of using only three (as it is mandatory by the standard for one year exposure time) up to eleven. With the new experimental data, we were able to confirm that the values fit a normal distribution. We also found evidence that the minimum number of probes might depend upon the atmospheric condition and exposure time. The number of probes presently required for studies with exposure times of one year, might not be enough in studies of initial kinetics (exposure times smaller than one year). (Author) 14 refs