INTERNATIONAL ISO

STANDARD 8407

Third edition
2021-01

Corrosion of metals and alloys —

Removal of corrosion products from
corrosion test specimens
Corrosion des métaux et alliages — Élimination des produits de
corrosion sur les éprouvettes d'essai de corrosion

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ISO 8407:2021
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Reference number
ISO 8407:2021(E)

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ISO 8407:2021(E)


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 ISO 8407:2021(E)


Contents Page

Foreword......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... iv
1 Scope.................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 1
2 Normative references....................................................................................................................................................................................... 1
3 Terms and definitions...................................................................................................................................................................................... 1
4 Procedures................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 1
4.1 General............................................................................................................................................................................................................ 1
4.2 Chemical procedures.......................................................................................................................................................................... 3
4.3 Electrolytic procedures..................................................................................................................................................................... 3
4.4 Mechanical procedures..................................................................................................................................................................... 3
5 Test report.................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 4
Annex A (informative) Chemical and electrolytic cleaning procedures for removal of
corrosion products.............................................................................................................................................................................................. 5
Bibliography.............................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 11

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ISO 8407:2021(E)


Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national standards
bodies (ISO member bodies). The work of preparing International Standards is normally carried out
through ISO technical committees. Each member body interested in a subject for which a technical
committee has been established has the right to be represented on that committee. International
organizations, governmental and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO, also take part in the work.
ISO collaborates closely with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) on all matters of
electrotechnical standardization.
The procedures used to develop this document and those intended for its further maintenance are
described in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1. In particular, the different approval criteria needed for the
different types of ISO documents should be noted. This document was drafted in accordance with the
editorial rules of the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2 (see www​.iso​.org/​directives).
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of
patent rights. ISO shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights. Details of
any patent rights identified during the development of the document will be in the Introduction and/or
on the ISO list of patent declarations received (see www​.iso​.org/​patents).
Any trade name used in this document is information given for the convenience of users and does not
constitute an endorsement.
For an explanation of the voluntary nature of standards, the meaning of ISO specific terms and
expressions related to conformity assessment, as well as information about ISO's adherence to the
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World Trade Organization (WTO) principles in the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), see www​.iso​.org/​
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This document was prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC  156, Corrosion of metals and alloys, in
collaboration with the  European Committee forISO 8407:2021
Standardization (CEN) Technical Committee CEN/
TC 262, Metallic and other inorganic coatings, including for corrosion protection and corrosion testing of
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metals and alloys, in accordance with the Agreement2c14831750ee/iso-8407-2021
on technical cooperation between ISO and CEN
(Vienna Agreement).
This third edition cancels and replaces the second edition (ISO 8407:2009), which has been technically
revised. The main changes compared with the previous edition are as follows:
— Table  A.1 has been revised to include current chemical cleaning procedures for the removal of
corrosion products.
Any feedback or questions on this document should be directed to the user’s national standards body. A
complete listing of these bodies can be found at www​.iso​.org/​members​.html.

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INTERNATIONAL STANDARD ISO 8407:2021(E)

Corrosion of metals and alloys — Removal of corrosion

products from corrosion test specimens
WARNING — Safety rules for personnel: handling of the solutions used for the removal of
corrosion products shall be left to skilled personnel or conducted under their control. The
equipment shall be used and maintained by skilled personnel, not only so that the procedures
can be performed correctly, but also because of the hazards to health and safety that are
involved.

1 Scope
This document specifies procedures for the removal of corrosion products formed on metal and alloy
corrosion test specimens during their exposure in corrosive environments. For the purpose of this
document, the term “metals” refers to pure metals and alloys.
The specified procedures are designed to remove all corrosion products without significant removal of
base metal. This allows an accurate determination of the mass loss of the metal, which occurred during
exposure to the corrosive environment.
In some cases, these procedures are also applicable to metal coatings, providing the possible effects
from the substrate are considered.
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2 Normative references
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There are no normative references in thisISO 8407:2021
document.
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3 Terms and definitions
No terms and definitions are listed in this document.
ISO and IEC maintain terminological databases for use in standardization at the following addresses:
— ISO Online browsing platform: available at https://​w ww​.iso​.org/​obp
— IEC Electropedia: available at http://​w ww​.electropedia​.org/​

4 Procedures

4.1 General

4.1.1 A light mechanical cleaning treatment by brushing, e.g. a soft bristle brush under running water,
should first be applied to remove lightly adherent or bulky corrosion products.

4.1.2 If the treatment described in 4.1.1 does not remove all corrosion products, it will be necessary to
use other procedures. These are of three types:

a) chemical;
b) electrolytic;
c) more vigorous mechanical treatments.
NOTE These treatments will also remove some base metal.

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Whichever method is used, it might be necessary to repeat the cleaning treatment to ensure complete
removal of the corrosion products. Removal shall be confirmed by visual examination. The use of a low-
power microscope (i.e. × 7 to × 30) is particularly helpful with a pitted surface since corrosion products
can accumulate in pits.

4.1.3 An ideal procedure should remove corrosion products and not result in the removal of any
base metal. Two procedures can be used to confirm this point. One procedure uses a control specimen
(see 4.1.4) and the other requires a certain number of cleaning cycles on the corroded specimen (see
4.1.5). The procedures shall be maintained while the rust removal performance of the solutions listed in
Tables A.1 and A.2 is not impaired.
NOTE 1 Indications that the solution needs to be discarded can be discoloration or the presence of a significant
amount of corrosion products in the solution.

NOTE 2 Some solutions might need some aging before working without etching the substrate.

4.1.4 Uncorroded control specimens, which should be similar chemically, metallurgically and
geometrically to the test specimens, should be cleaned by the same procedure as used for the test
specimen. By weighing the control specimen before and after cleaning (weighing to the fifth significant
figure is suggested, e.g. a 70  g specimen should be weighed to three decimal places), the metal loss
resulting from cleaning may be determined. The mass loss of the control specimen will reflect the mass
loss of test specimens resulting from the cleaning procedure.

4.1.5 The cleaning of each corroded test specimen should be repeated several times after the removal
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of the corrosion products is completed. The mass shall be plotted as a function of the periods of
cleaning cycles with the same interval time or time units (see Figure 1). Point A represents the mass of
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corroded specimens before the start of the cleaning. In many cases, two straight lines, AB and BC, will
be obtained. Line AB characterizes the removal of corrosion products and may not always be visible.
Line BC characterizes the removal of the substrateISO after the corrosion products are completely removed.
8407:2021
Point D, which characterizes the mass of the pure metal at zero number of cleaning cycles, is obtained by
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extrapolation of line BC to the ordinate axis. In some cases, the relationship may not be linear, and the
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most appropriate extrapolation shall then be made. If the relationship of B and C is not linear, a linear
regression method, e.g. by applying the least squares from later points of cleaning cycles, can be used for
estimation of the point for the D value.

If the durations of each cleaning step are not equal, the x-axis should be expressed in units of cumulative
exposure time in the cleaning solution, rather than the number of cleaning steps used up to that point.

Key
X numbers of cleaning cycles or time units
Y mass

Figure 1 — Mass of corroded specimens after repetitive cleaning cycles

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NOTE The number of points needed to establish the line BC is sometimes less than indicated in the figure for
the specific case, especially if there is significant experience for the pickled material and solution.

4.1.6 The true mass of the specimen, after removal of the corrosion products, will be a value between
the masses represented by the points B and D, depending on the degree of protection provided by the
corrosion products during the cleaning procedure.

4.1.7 The preferred cleaning method will be one that:

a) provides efficient removal of corrosion products;

b) provides low or zero mass loss when applied to new uncorroded specimens (see 4.1.4);
c) provides a curve of mass as a function of the number of cleaning cycles or time of pickling, which is
close to horizontal when the latter is plotted as the abscissa (see 4.1.5).

4.1.8 When chemical or electrolytic procedures are used, solutions freshly prepared with distilled or
deionized water and reagent grade chemicals shall be used.

4.1.9 After cleaning, the specimen should be thoroughly rinsed with tap water. A light brushing during
this procedure will help to remove any remaining surface products resulting from the cleaning process.
Finally, the specimens shall be rinsed with distilled or deionized water. The specimen shall then be rinsed
thoroughly in ethanol and dried in air. Drying in an air stream is strongly recommended, or optionally a
hot air blower or an oven may be used. After drying, the specimens shall be allowed to cool in a dessicator
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to the balance room temperature before weighing.

4.2 Chemical procedures

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ISO 8407:2021
4.2.1 Chemical procedures involve the immersion of the corroded test specimen in a chemical solution
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that is specifically designed to remove the corrosion products with minimal dissolution of any base
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metal. Several procedures are listed in Annex A (see Table A.1). To facilitate the cleaning, an ultrasonic
bath treatment should be used.

4.2.2 Chemical cleaning is often preceded by a light brushing of the test specimen to remove lightly
adherent, bulky corrosion products.

4.2.3 Before the chemical treatment, clean the specimens as described in 4.1.1. In connection with
the intermittent removal of specimens for weighing, brush the specimens, if necessary, to facilitate the
removal of tightly adherent corrosion products.

4.3 Electrolytic procedures

Electrolytic cleaning can also be used to remove corrosion products. Several methods of electrolytic
cleaning of corrosion test specimens are given in Annex A (see Table A.2). To facilitate the cleaning, an
ultrasonic bath treatment should be used.
Brushing should follow electrolytic cleaning to remove any loose deposits. This will help to minimize
any redeposition of metal from reducible corrosion products in solution that would reduce the
measured mass loss.

4.4 Mechanical procedures

Mechanical procedures can include scraping, scrubbing, brushing, ultrasonic methods, mechanical
shock and impact blasting, e.g. grit blasting, water-jet blasting. These methods are often used to remove
heavily encrusted corrosion products. Scrubbing with a bristle brush and a mild abrasive/distilled
water slurry can also be used to remove corrosion products.

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Vigorous mechanical cleaning will result in the removal of some base metal, so care should be exercised.
These methods should only be used when others fail to provide adequate removal of corrosion products.
As with the other methods, correction for metal loss due to the cleaning method is recommended. The
mechanical force used in cleaning shall be maintained as constant as possible.

5 Test report
The test report shall include at least the following information:
a) a reference to this document, i.e. ISO 8407:2021;
b) the procedure used to remove corrosion products;
c) for chemical procedures, the composition and concentration of the chemicals employed or the
designation according to Table  A.1, the solution temperature and the duration of each cleaning
cycle or the number of equal cleaning cycles;
d) for electrolytic procedures, the composition and concentration of the chemicals employed or the
designation according to Table  A.2, the solution temperature, the anode material, the current
density and the duration of cleaning;
e) for mechanical procedures, the specific mechanical method employed (e.g. bristle-brush scrubbing,
wooden scraper), the abrasive compounds used and the duration of cleaning;
f) where multiple procedures are used, the appropriate details for each method and the sequence of
methods; iTeh STANDARD PREVIEW
g) (standards.iteh.ai)
the results of cleaning of control specimens (see 4.1.4) or from repetitive cleaning cycles (see 4.1.5)
designed to assess mass loss from the removal of base metal during the cleaning process;
h) the mass loss due to corrosion (see 4.1.6);
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i) any unusual features observed; 2c14831750ee/iso-8407-2021

j) the date of the test.

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Annex A
(informative)

Chemical and electrolytic cleaning procedures for removal of

corrosion products

A.1 General
In the development of this document, a number of sources were consulted to identify chemical and
electrolytic cleaning procedures. This annex summarizes the results of this survey.
Prior to adopting these cleaning procedures, the user should conduct a test on control samples to ensure
the efficiency of the chosen method.

A.2 Procedures
Tables A.1 and A.2 summarize various chemical and electrolytic cleaning procedures for the removal of
corrosion products. The specific choice of procedure for a given material will depend on many factors,
including previous experience. If more than one chemical or electrolytic cleaning procedure is given for
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a metal, the procedures are usually listed in the preferred order. This document should be consulted for
guidance in the proper application of the procedures in Tables A.1 and A.2.
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The times specified represent recommendations appropriate for mass-loss studies in the context of
Figure 1. However, when the cleaning procedure is adopted for other purposes, e.g. cleaning of fracture
ISO 8407:2021
surfaces for inspection using a microscope, or if the specimens are significantly corroded, the exposure
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time may be longer. 2c14831750ee/iso-8407-2021

WARNING — When working with dangerous substances (such as cyanide, chromium trioxide,
zinc dust), all necessary safety precautions shall be taken.

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