A resistometric probe for corrosion rate measurement in air

Milan Kouřil¹, Jan Stoulil¹,

¹Vysoká škola chemicko-technologická v Praze, Ústav kovových materiálů a korozního inženýrství

Užitný vzor CZ 24648

The resistometric technique is used for decades for monitoring of corrosion rate of metals in various environments, including air. Corrosion depth is measured by means of electrical resistance increase of a thin metallic conductor made of the metal of interest. However, the material selection is quite limited on the market. The authors developed a wide range of probes differing in kind of metal and sensitivity. The innovative design of the probes eliminates construction imperfections of competing resistometric sensors that are already established in practical applications. The original construction reduces inaccuracy in corrosion depth determination. The probe constitutes of a thin metallic track deposited on a non-conductive substrate, analogous to printed circuit board. The probe in operation is inserted in a connector of a device that regularly collects a loss of a metal due to corrosion.  The probes as well as the logger were developed within the Musecorr project supported by European Commission. Currently, the corrosion monitoring system is successful on the marked and it establishes successfully in the fields of cultural heritage protection, long-distance and overseas transportation of metallic goods, protection of sensitive electronic equipment, development of materials and construction elements in automotive industry, corrosion monitoring of buried structures and corrosion science.

The resistometric probe was developed exclusively on the Institute of Chemical Technology, Prague. The workers of ICT Prague developed the production technique of the sensors that are based on lamination of thin metallic foils on a glass-fibre substrate, including mainly the surface treatment procedure of the foils resulting in sufficient adherence to the substrate. M. Kouřil was responsible for the surface treatment technology development and construction optimization of the sensors. J. Stoulil was responsible for designing and verifying the protective efficiency of the sensor’s reference part masking. M. Kouřil is now responsible for production and commercial utilization of the sensors.