Luke A.

Momjian, 11th Grade

Table of Contents
Abstract Introduction Variables Materials Procedure Pictures Data and Graphs Analysis Conclusion Acknowledgements Bibliography
z

3 4 5 5-6 6 7-9 10-14 15 16 16 16-18

Abstract
My project, titled Does humidity affect the corrosion of metals?, tried to determine whether there is a relationship between the humidity of the air that a piece of metal is exposed to and the rate at which it corrodes. In my procedure, I used 2.5x5 cm sheets of A653 steel, cut to a thickness of .12 cm in order to make the evidence of corrosion plainer. The 6 sheets were placed in 3 air-tight containers on an electric blanket (in order to create a higher-temperature environment and speed up the corrosion process). In the first container, the 2 steel sheets were suspended from the ceiling in the center of the container. Three paper towels were placed at the bottom of the container, which was then filled with .12 L of water. In the second, the steel was suspended in an empty container. In the third, a low-humidity environment was produced by the addition of .12 L of the moisture-absorbing substance DampRid. Each container contained a humidistat, which measured the humidity and temperature of its environment. The steel was exposed for a period of 8 days. I was able to observe rusting in the high humidity environment, but because of limited scale precision I was not able to quantify the amount of rust produced, nor measure the change in weight before and after the experiment of pieces that rusted. Since no rust was found in the lower humidity environments, I believe that my hypothesis was supported. If I were to repeat this experiment, I would make several changes to permit me to measure the amount of rust produced.

Introduction
Corrosion is a general term for the disintegration of a metal into its constituent atoms due to a chemical reaction. The formation of Iron(III) oxide, what my science fair focuses on, is a redox reaction, requiring both a reducing agent and an oxidizing agent. Below is its formula: 4Fe + 3O2 2Fe2O3 This reaction can be broken down into the two half-reactions that make up a redox reaction: oxidization and reduction. Previous to the reaction, iron (Fe) had an oxidization state of 0. In order to transfer its electrons to oxygen (O), it changes its oxidization state to 3+. This process is the oxidization half of the redox reaction, and is formulated below. 4Fe0 4Fe3+ + 12e Next is the reduction half of the reaction. O accepts the electrons that Fe gave up, in order to form a stable octet. 3O2 + 12e 6O2 It is the principals stated by the octet rule that cause the formation of rust. In this example, the reducing agent (oxygen) forms ionic bonds with iron in the compound Iron(III) oxide. The tendency of oxidizing agents to form rust is a tribute to the increased stability of the octet. However, oxidation can be hard on metals. Properties such as strength, luster, and electrical conductivity can be lost through oxidation. It is therefore important that the factors influencing rust be understood in order to preserve the abundance of metallic objects we depend on. My science fair project tries to determine water's exact role in the process. By placing thin sheets of steel in various humidity environments, I am investigating whether or not an increase in humidity will produce an increase in the rate of corrosion. I hypothesize that humidity will positively influence the rate of oxidation.

Variables
Manipulated variables Humidity of steel's environment Controlled variables Temperature Type of steel Surface area of pieces Duration of exposure External environment of the containers Responding variables Amount of rust produced

Materials
30.5 cm x 30.5 cm x 1.2 mm A653 hot-rolled galvanized steel (Galvanized steel was the only steel available to me at the time) Goo Gone ruler mechanical pencil hack saw file drill Sharpie electronic scale soap and water nitrile gloves 17.8 x 12.2 x 17.3 cm Lock and Lock airtight storage containers (3) Acu-Rite Home Comfort Monitor (3) cotton string scissors packing tape .12 L DampRid

3 paper towels .12 L water plastic bin electric blanket wool blanket

Procedure
1. Wash the sheet of steel with Goo Gone to get rid of any grease or dirt. 2. Cut six 2.5 x 5 cm pieces out of the sheet with a hack saw. Use the file to adjust for inaccuracy in cutting. 3. Drill a hole in the top center of the cut steel (so that the string strung through it will make the steel hang properly). 4. Number each piece from 1-6 with the Sharpie. 5. Weigh each piece and record. 6. Give each piece of steel a final wash with soap and water. Gloves will be worn in future handling to keep them clean of oils. 7. Label each of the three containers A, B, C. 8. Place an Acu-Rite Home Comfort Monitor in each container (they monitor humidity and temperature). 9. Tie a string through the hole in each piece of steel. They will hang roughly 1 inch below the lid of the containers. 10.Tape the ends of the string of pieces #1 and #2 at one end of container A. Repeat with piece #3 and #4 in container B. Place #5 and #6 in container C. 11.Measure .12 L of DampRid and place at the bottom of container A. 12.Place 3 paper towels at the bottom of container C. 13.Pour .12 L water into container C. 14.Place the electric blanket in a plastic bin. Place the containers on the blanket. 15.Insulate the plastic bin with a wool blanket. 16.Leave the materials in a contained environment with no daily temperature fluctuation. Record humidity and temperature daily, along with any observations. 17.Once the exposure has concluded, remove the steel from the containers. Make sure not to disturb any rust produced, as it can flake off easily. Leave them out for an hour or two to evaporate any condensation. 18.Weigh the steel and record.

Pictures

Data and Graphs

Day 0 Date
11:25pm Jan 26

12:50am Jan 28

12:20am Jan 29

12:30am Jan 30

12:50am Jan 31

12:30am Feb 1

12:45arm Feb 2

12:22am Feb 3

8:08pm Feb 3

Container A B C A B C A B C A B C A B C A B C A B C A B C A B C

Humidity (%) 38 40 38 99 26 16 99 20 16 99 20 16 99 16 16 99 16 16 99 16 16 99 16 16 99 16 16

Temperature (F) Observations 66 66 66 111 Small bits of rust on edges of steel 113 111 109 More rust on edges 115 111 DampRid is exhausted 108 115 108 109 Edges are now fair;y well rusted 115 109 111 115 111 113 Surface of steel starting to rust 118 113 108 115 111 109 115 109

Data Table 1: Daily recordings and observations

The environment of container A remained saturated as designed. An interesting observation was that the edges rusted much more rapidly than the flat, uncut surface of the steel. I believe this is due to the fact that the type of steel I used was galvanized (thinly coated with zinc to prevent rusting) on the surface. Ideally I would use non-galvanized steel, but that was the only steel available to me at the time. Container B, the control, started off with a slightly higher humidity than container B. After 3 days of exposure, it had settled at 16% humidity. Container C had the lowest humidity in the group. The .12 L DampRid it contained was exhausted after the first day of exposure (it was in a pool of water).

Piece
Original After Rust Without Rust #1 11.5 11.5 0 11.5 #2 11.8 11.7 0.1 11.8

Weight (g)

Data Table 1: Daily recordings and observations

Seeing repeated measurements of pieces #1 and #2 fluctuate in and out of significance, I realized that my scale was not precise enough to produce analyzable data. I then decided to scrape as much rust off the steel as I could, and weigh it. The data was, again, within the margin of error. I was not able to produce any significant results to analyze.

120 100 80 60 40 20 0
A B C

Humidity (%)

4 Day

Figure 1: Humidity levels of containers A, B, and C.

125 120

Temperature (F)

115 110 105 100

A B C

4 Day

Figure 2: Humidity levels of containers A, B, and C.

12 11.9 11.8 11.7

Weight (g)

11.6 11.5 11.4 11.3 11.2 11.1 11

#1

#2

#3 Piece

#4
Ending

#5

#6

Original

Figure 3: Comparison between original and ending metal masses

The decrease in weight of #2, while understandable, is within the margin of error. This claim is backed up by the unexplainable increases in weight observed in pieces #3, 5, and 6. The results of this graph are inconclusive. A more precise scale would be necessary to provide useful data.

Analysis
As shown in the pictures, some of container A's steel reacted into Iron(III) oxide. Containers B and C showed no evidence of rust. While this experiment did help prove that a humidity level of above 16% is required to produce rust (or at least in such a short period of time), it failed to answer several other relevant questions. A number of factors hindered me from producing significant, quantitative data to analyze. I will attempt to work out these issues for future experimentation. Increased precision in measurement of metals and rust This problem could be solved two ways: one would be to use a more accurate scale; the second would be to increase the amount of rust produced. I believe that both would be beneficial in data analysis. Below are several ways of increasing the yield of rust. Bigger sheets of steel could be used. (Bigger sheets = more surface area = more rust produced) Thinner steel could be used. non-galvanized steel could be used. The steel could be exposed for a longer period of time. The temperature of the environment could be increased. Increased variety in humidity levels While having one higher and one lower humidity environment deemed sufficient to observe a difference in rust, I believe that my question could be more thoroughly answered through a wide range of humidity levels. Supposing that environments at 70% and 99% humidity will both produce rust, I would like to see if there is a difference between enough and more than enough. Lower deviation of temperature between containers The electric blanket I used provided a fairly good spread of heat, but ideally the heat source would be farther from the containers, in order to improve dispersion. More DampRid The .12 L DampRid I planned for turned out to only last for around 2 days before dehumidifying all the air it could. In the future, I will either use more, or find an alternative source of dehumidification.

Conclusion
This experiment does help prove that steel placed in an environment of saturated air will rust in an 8-day period of exposure. It also helps prove that steel placed in a low humidity environment will not produce rust in 8 days. The combination of these two statements answers the question of my project. I believe that a link has been established between the variables of humidity and the amount of rust produced. However, more work is required to quantify just how much rust was produced in the saturated environment.

Acknowledgements
Christine Momjian Matthew Momjian Lisa Swieson Bruce Momjian

Bibliography
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Unknown. (2005) Fundamentals of Corrosion and Corrosion Control. Corrosion Technology Laboratory. Available: http://corrosion.ksc.nasa.gov/corr_fundamentals.htm Accessed: January 10th, 2012 Unknown. (2007) Chemistry of Corrosion. Corrosionist. Available: http://www.corrosionist.com/what_is_Chemistry_of_Corrosion.htm Accessed: January 26th, 2012 Unknown. (Unknown) A653 Hot Roll (available in Sheet) OnelineMetal. Available: http://www.onlinemetals.com/alloycat.cfm?alloy=A653 Accessed: January 26th, 2012