Spray package material defects

Part 1: Traditional aluminum aerosol containers Hello, everyone. Defect-free spray package materials do not exist and these defects are often misidentified as corrosion. Even though defects don’t often contribute to or cause spray package corrosion, some formulas will interact with defects to produce package corrosion. Thus, there are always potential concerns as to whether or […]

Interaction between sales and package corrosion

Hello, everyone. New products and derivative products typically have several timetables. One of these is an ideal timetable for sales (Target Sales) and the other is the actual sales timetable that is determined by the strength or weakness of the economy. Package corrosion also has a timetable, referred to as the package service life (PSL). […]

Substituting empirical models for package corrosion tests

Hello, everyone. I have often been asked if corrosion could be mathematically modeled so that long-term corrosion testing could be either shortened or skipped. The short answers are Yes-and-No. There are many potential formula and package material factors that cause or contribute to the corrosion of spray package materials. The seven major categories of corrosivity […]

High temperature corrosion storage tests, Part 2

Hello, everyone. I started a two-part series about the science for using higher temperatures to accelerate the rate of spray package corrosion as a possible way to reduce storage test time in the last issue. The first part centered on the science for the Arrhenius equation, often used to justify using higher temperatures to accelerate […]

High temperature corrosion storage tests, Part 1

Hello, everyone. Limited budgets for testing, as well as pressure to quickly commercialize new products and derivative products (line extensions), often force the taking of short-cuts in corrosion tests. Indeed, higher temperatures are often used to accelerate spray package corrosion to shorten the time needed for corrosion testing. However, there are many pitfalls to this […]

Corrosion control is a process, not a one-time event

Hello, everyone. Corrosion prevention and control for all types of spray packaging is a continuous process and not a one-time event. The risk of corrosion is always greater than zero and the risk could be as high as approximately 62% when there is no corrosion data for new formulas and derivatives of current formulas (line […]

Controlling & preventing corrosion with inhibitors…

Hello everyone. Why abandon a formula if it causes package corrosion? I suspect most wouldn’t because corrosive formulas sometimes have the most desirable performance among those evaluated for a particular product type. Indeed, most will typically try to find a corrosion inhibitor before giving up on a corrosive formula. In my 50 years of working […]

The limitations of coatings for corrosion prevention

Hello, everyone. It’s commonly believed that coatings and laminate films are barriers between a spray package metal or metal foil and a formula. It’s also commonly believed that a barrier is needed to prevent metal corrosion. However, these beliefs are not always true! Why don’t coatings always prevent corrosion of the coating and the substrate […]

Testing can accurately predict actual corrosion…

Hello, everyone. The Corrosion Corner column turns 22 years old this month. Thank you all for your support and interest over the years. Can spray package corrosion tests accurately predict actual spray package corrosion? The short answer is Yes. However, using inappropriate protocols produces inaccurate corrosion data that often leads to wrong conclusions about long-term […]

Top 12 spray package corrosion questions

Hello, everyone. Spray packages include traditional aluminum and steel aerosol containers, bag-on-valve spray packages, aerosol containers with internal bags and multiple-use spray packages. All of these packaging types are susceptible to corrosion and are very expensive! The cost of spray package corrosion includes the unbudgeted use of resources to: 1. Investigate package failures 2. Find […]