Corrosion of electrical contacts: Review of flowing mixed gas test developments

Abstract

Tests to simulate indoor operating environments for electronics have been under development for many years. This work has accelerated over the last 10–15 years and has been aided by the development of large bodies of field data. It has clearly been demonstrated in the laboratory that many candidate pollutants can corrode relevant materials. However, it is now known that only a few, or more specifically a critical few in combination, will produce corrosion mechanisms, chemistries, and kinetics that begin to reproduce field data. The most important among these interactions are the reactive sulphide-reactive chloride effects. In the present paper, some of the significant developments leading to modern concepts of flowing mixed gas testing are reviewed. It will be demonstrated that classical, single gas, high concentration tests are totally unrealistic simulations of field environments. The need for multiple tests to simulate multiple classes of field environment will further be demonstrated. Finally, the critical importance of test control and verification in the conduct of flowing mixed gas procedures will be emphasised.

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