Packaging can sometimes be conducive to unexpected, and at times very unpleasant experiences, often resulting in loss of valuable equipment and time. Experience of a large company manufacturing electrical equipment is illustrative of problems that arise, and which eventually led to a broad investigation of packaging and its effect on the corrosion of zinc plated equipment and apparatus.
An unexpected strike in the field necessitated storing large quantities of equipment for periods considerably in excess of that which was ordinarily the custom. The suddenness of this emergency compelled employment of storage facilities over and above those normally needed which in some cases were admittedly poor, but were the best available at the time. When work was resumed in the field it was discovered that appreciable quantities of equipment were very severely corroded, some requiring costly refinishing, others actual replacement. While the condition of the equipment was attributed to storage for considerable lengths of time during an exceptionally humid and hot time of the year, and in some instances under very poor storage conditions, it was felt that other factors, principally the type of packaging, were also contributory. When the corrosion of the stored equipment was first observed, it was noted that parts which had been packed in paper cartons were in better condition than were those in plywood boxes.
In view of the extensive damage and the possibility this contingency might reoccur it was deemed necessary to ascertain the cause or causes for this wide-spread corrosion and the reasons for differences in the degree of corrosion. A preliminary investigation was made in an attempt to duplicate in the laboratory the type and extent of corrosion encountered in the field. Encouraging results of these first tests led to an extension of the work. The purpose of the second and more comprehensive study was to determine what effect, if any, various packaging materials and methods of packing had on the rate of corrosion, what physical and/or chemical factors were controlling, and what remedial measures were indicated in order to prevent, or minimize a repetition of this trouble. This investigation attempts to answer these questions, and indicates the desirability of further work in order to clarify some of the questions not yet completely and satisfactorily answered.
