Corrosion and conservation of cultural heritage metallic artefacts

Book excerpt: Relationships between conservation and corrosion scientists are assessed and similarities, differences and synergies identified. Corrosion control as a preservation option for heritage metals is advocated as being cost-effective and pragmatic. This will require generation of data to develop predictive conservation and estimation of object lifespan as a function of their intrinsic and extrinsic variables. Methods for quantitative determination of corrosion rates of chloride infested heritage iron and techniques for scaling to heritage value are discussed. The iron hull of the ss Great Britain and an AHRC/EPSRC Heritage Science Research Programme at Cardiff University are used to illustrate the rationale behind using corrosion control in heritage.