Materials and Surface Treatments for Use in Telecom Industry Environments, Part 1

Outdoor enclosures for telecom equipment are often constructed from powder-coated aluminum, but with appropriate surface treatments, hot and cold rolled steel can serve in the same capacity at a lower cost. This article, the first of a two-part series, discusses the intrinsic corrosion behavior of hot and cold rolled steel and how it can be modified through galvanizing and aluminizing treatments. Part 2, scheduled for the October 2012 issue of AM&P, covers nonmetallic surface treatments and presents corrosion test results.