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.