The effect of moisture content on the corrosion of fasteners embedded in wood subjected to alkaline copper quaternary treatment

• We examine the dependence of metal corrosion on wood moisture content.
• Corrosion of steel and galvanized steel in treated wood were measured.
• Corrosion products were analyzed across moisture contents using X-ray diffraction.
• The corrosion rate has a sigmoidal dependence on moisture content.
• The data herein can be used to improve combined hygrothermal–corrosion models.

This paper characterizes the corrosion rate of embedded fasteners as a function of wood moisture content using gravimetric and electrochemical measurements. The results indicated that the corrosion rate increased with moisture content before reaching a plateau. The phases present in the corrosion products, as analyzed using X-ray diffraction, are generally consistent with previous work. Uniform corrosion was observed for all fasteners and all conditions except steel fasteners embedded in water-saturated wood. Data of dependence of corrosion rate on moisture content, presented herein, are necessary to ensure the accuracy of combined hygrothermal/corrosion models used to predict durability of wood structures.