Comparison of the corrosion of fasteners embedded in wood measured in outdoor exposure with the predictions from a combined hygrothermal-corrosion model

• This paper explores how to predict corrosion of fasteners in treated wood.
• We compare a corrosion field test to a combined hygrothermal-corrosion model.
• In preservative treated wood, the model correctly predicts trends in the field data.

This paper examines the accuracy of a recently developed hygrothermal-corrosion model which predicts the corrosion of fasteners embedded in wood by comparing the results of the model to a one year field test. Steel and galvanized steel fasteners were embedded into untreated and preservative treated wood and exposed outdoors while weather data were collected. Qualitatively, the distribution of corrosion products along the length of the fastener were in agreement with the simulation results. Quantitatively, the combined hygrothermal-corrosion model predicted 20% less corrosion than measured in the exposure test for galvanized steel fasteners due to a lower simulated moisture content.