Bi-modal trending for corrosion loss of steels buried in soils

Corrosion loss data from the 1957 NBS study for steels buried in a large variety of soils and exposed over 12–17 years are re-interpreted, supported with estimates for scatter in the data. This shows that losses predominantly are consistent with the bi-modal trending pattern also previously observed for steel exposed in a variety of other environments. For short-term and low time of wetness exposures the trends are consistent with mode 1 of the bi-modal trend. These reinterpretations should permit development of better understanding of the factors important for short- and-long term corrosion trends and for improved modelling and prediction.