E ESSENTIAL CORROSION PROTECTION

August 30, 2023

Soltec

Attn:
Carlos Jiménez Garrote
Civil Engineer
carlos.jimenez@soltec.com
6100 Blue Lagoon Dr Suite 370
Miami, FL, 33126
+1 561 690 1624

Reference: Atmospheric Corrosion Evaluation for the Morris Solar Project in Adair County,
Missouri

Dear Mr. Garrote:

The objective of this report is to evaluate the atmospheric corrosion of galvanized steel structural
posts to be installed at the Morris Solar Project in Adair County, Missouri (40.116878°, -
92.558685°). The evaluation hereinbelow includes the collection and review of local climate
parameters to establish atmospheric corrosivity, identification of corrosion rates, and calculations
to establish the service life of the galvanized steel posts.

1. Methodology

There are normally two methodologies that can be used to classify the corrosivity of an
atmosphere in a specific area. One is developed by the International Standards Organization (ISO)
and the other is based on qualitative descriptions.

ISO 9223 and ISO 9224 Standard Method

The ISO 9223 Standard “Corrosion of metals and alloys: Corrosivity of atmospheres –
Classification, determination and estimation” and ISO 9224 “Corrosion of metals and alloys:
Corrosivity of atmospheres – Guiding values for the corrosivity categories” use four key factors to
identify the atmospheric corrosivity at a specific location. The four factors are:

a. Annual average temperature T: T is expressed in degree Celsius (°C).

b. Annual average relative humidity RH. RH is expressed as a percentage (%).
c. Annual average SO2 deposition Pd. Pd is expressed as milligrams per square meter per day
[mg/ (m2.d)].
d. Annual average Cl- deposition Sd. Sd is expressed as milligrams per square meter per day
[mg/(m2.d)].

The atmospheric corrosivity categories presented in the ISO 9223 and ISO 9224 standards are:

Category Corrosivity
C1 Very Low

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C2 Low
C3 Medium
C4 High
C5 Very High

The atmospheric corrosion category of the project site will be calculated based on the ISO
methodology that uses average temperature T, average relative humidity RH, average SO2
deposition Pd, and average Cl- deposition Sd. Once data are collected and analyzed for each of
the four factors, the values are entered into equation (1) and (2) of ISO 9223 to calculate the first-
year corrosion rates of carbon steel and zinc in such atmospheric environment.

Corrosivity Categories based on Qualitative Descriptions

The atmospheric corrosivity categories presented in industry publications are:

Category Corrosivity
Rural Least corrosive (does not include chemical pollutants)
Urban Corrosive (similar to rural with some industry activity)
Industrial Corrosive/Very Corrosive (exposed to contaminants from heavy industrial)
Marine Very Corrosive (exposed to sea salt/chlorides/moisture)

The project site is located in the northern part of Missouri , approximately 286 miles south-east of
Lake Michigan. The nearest town, Kirksville, is about 5 miles away on the north side of the project
site. The project site is surrounded by open lands, agricultural fields and wooded lots. Accordingly,
the overall atmospheric corrosivity category of the project site can be classified as “Rural”.

The Dose-Response functions used by the ISO 9223 and ISO 9224 standards are considered to
be more accurate since it is based on actual environmental data from the area under consideration.
In this evaluation, the method of Dose-Response functions based on ISO 9223 and 9224
standards is used.

2. Atmospheric Parameters

According to the Koppen-Geiger Climate Classification, the site is classified as Humid continental
climate (Dfa), with warm to hot summers, cold winters, moderate to heavy rainfall. The average
annual precipitation at the site is 1051 mm.

a. Average temperature T: The temperature data in this study are obtained from NOAA (National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration). The closest weather monitoring station with long
term weather records is the Kirksville Regional Airport, which is 1.5 miles from the site. The
data used in this report have been collected hourly between Jan 1996 and Dec 2022. The
long-term temperature at the site is calculated by averaging the mean daily temperature. As
a result, the annual average temperature T at the project site is 11.4°C.

b. Average relative humidity RH: The relative humidity data in this study are obtained from NOAA
(National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration). The closest weather monitoring station
with long term weather records is the Kirksville Regional Airport , which is 1.5 miles from the
site. The data used in this report have been collected hourly between Jan 1996 and Dec 2022.

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The long-term relative humidity at the site is calculated by averaging the mean daily relative
humidity. As a result, the long-term average relative humidity RH at the site is 70.3%.

c. Average SO2 deposition Pd: The SO2 deposition was obtained from the Ozone Monitoring
Instrument (OMI) onboard NASA’s Aura satellite, which provides spatial and temporal global
observations of the key atmospheric pollutants. The data for the project site was the average
of the daily mean atmospheric SO2 concentration within 15-km distance from the project site
and covered a temporal range from Jan 2005 to Dec 2022. We calculated the SO2 deposition
rate from the daily average atmosphere concentration using the equation Pd (deposition) =
0.8 x Pc (concentration) suggested in ISO 9223. The 18-year-average SO2 deposition rate at
the project site is 4.4 mg/(m2.d).

d. Annual average Cl- deposition data were collected by the National Atmospheric Deposition
Program National Trends Network (NTN). No Cl- deposition data was found directly at the
project site. The closest monitoring station is at the McNay Research Center (IA23), which is
approximately 73 miles from the project site. The average annual Cl- wet deposition at IA23
station between 1984 and 2020 is 0.84 kg/(ha.a) or 0.23 mg/(m2.d). The converted dry
deposition is 0.50 mg/(m2.d) based on a linear model generated using data from the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency. It is assumed that the project site has the same deposition
rate as IN34 and the value of 0.50 mg/(m2.d) is used as Sd in the calculation hereinbelow.

3. Corrosion Rates Calculations

Based on ISO 9223, the first-year corrosion rates of steel and zinc could be calculated by equation
(1) and (2) of 9223:

rcorr-steel = 1.77 x Pd0.52 x e0.020 x RH – 0.054 x (T-10) + 0.102 x Sd0.62 x e0.033 x RH + 0.040 x T (equation 1)
rcorr-zinc = 0.0129 x Pd0.44 x e0.046 x RH – 0.071 x (T-10) + 0.0175 x Sd0.57 x e0.008 x RH + 0.085 x T (equation 2)

Using the values deducted earlier, rcorr-zinc and rcorr-steel could be calculated respectively. They are:

rcorr-steel = 15.5 µm/a

rcorr-zinc = 0.6 µm/a

Based on Table 2 of ISO 9223 and the corrosion rates of steel and zinc, the atmospheric
environment at the project site could be classified as “C2 Low Corrosivity” for steel and the zinc
coating.

If the uncertainty levels are considered as shown in Annex A of ISO 9223, the corrosion rates of
carbon steel and zinc are expected to fall between the following ranges:

10.4 µm/a < rcorr-steel < 23.3 µm/a

0.4 µm/a < rcorr-zinc < 0.9 µm/a

If the upper limits are considered, the atmospheric environment at the project site could be
classified as “C2 Low Corrosivity” for steel and “C3 Median Corrosivity” for the zinc coating.

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4. Service Life Calculations

The long-term total corrosion of steel and zinc could be calculated based on equation (1) and the
parameters in Table 2 of ISO 9224. A design life of 30 years is used for the following calculations
as a demonstration.

Dsteel long term in µm = rcorr-steel x tb-steel

Dzinc long term in µm = rcorr-zinc x tb-zinc

Where,

t is the exposure time, expressed in years

rcorr-steel and rcorr-zinc are first-year corrosion rates calculated earlier, in µm/a
b-steel and b-zinc are environment-specific time exponent, reported in Table 2 of 9224
b-steel and b-zinc equal 0.523 and 0.813 respectively.

Therefore, after 30 years:

Dsteel long term = 91.8 µm

Dzinc long term = 9.5 µm

5. Summary of Atmospheric Corrosion

The service life calculations are based on a wall thickness for steel post type W8x8, which is 3300
µm. The zinc coating is post-fabrication batch hot-dipped galvanizing (referred to as HDG
thereafter) per ASTM A123. The zinc coating thickness is 70, 90, 100 and 120 μm for HDG.

Table 1 below, summarizes the total corrosion and remaining material thickness after the
assumed design life of 25 years and 30 years.

Table 1 Summary of Service Life Calculations

Material Steel Tube HDG1 HDG2 HDG3 HDG4
Original Thickness, µm 4318 70 90 100 120
First Year Corrosion Rate, µm/a 15.5 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6
After Total Corrosion, µm 83.5 8.2 8.2 8.2 8.2
25 Total Corrosion, % 2% 12% 9% 8% 7%
Years Remaining Materials, µm 4234.5 61.8 81.8 91.8 111.8
After Total Corrosion, µm 91.8 9.5 9.5 9.5 9.5
30 Total Corrosion, % 2% 14% 11% 10% 8%
Years Remaining Materials, µm 4226.2 60.5 80.5 90.5 110.5

1. The atmospheric corrosivity at the Morris Solar Project site is considered “C2 Low Corrosivity”
for steel and the zinc coating.

2. It is estimated that after 30 years of usage, 86% or 60.5 µm of the HDG1 zinc coating will
remain. If any of the HDG coating is used at the project site, only aesthetic corrosion is
expected.

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We appreciate the opportunity to work with you. Please feel free to contact us at (443)-510-8955
or yzhang@essentialcorrosion.com if you have any questions and/or require additional
information.

Sincerely,

Yaofu Zhang
AMPP Certified Corrosion Specialist
Principal Corrosion Engineer
www.essentialcorrosion.com

Limitations

This corrosion risk evaluation is prepared by researching previous literatures, reports and data.
No actual field tests were conducted for this assessment. The evaluation is based on the
parameters and assumptions identified in this report. Project site conditions could be different in
the future. Additional material loss, for example, the combined effects of sand erosion and
atmospheric corrosion, droplet erosion, galvanic corrosion, etc. are not considered. All services
provided herein were performed by personnel who are experienced and skilled in providing these
types of services and in accordance with the standards of workmanship in this profession. No
other warrantees or guarantees either expressed or implied are provided.

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