Performance Characteristics of various Corrugated Roofing Sheets in Nigeria

This Paper is based on an experiment carried out on different roofing sheets namely aluminum, galvanized steel, plastic and asbestos of various grades. The aluminum samples were obtained from two different companies in Nigeria namely First Aluminum and Tower Aluminum; the Asbestos was obtained from Emenite while the Steel and Plastic samples were bought from the market. The samples were cut into a particular size (8cm by 5cm) and immersed in various media namely acidic (H2SO4), alkaline (NaOH), Sea water and Rain water in 2litres plastic beakers. The Rain water was used as the control medium for the experiment. The experiment was carried out for 70days and each grade was cut into 14 pieces of the same dimension. The samples were washed, weighed and tagged before immersion in the media. Each sample was removed every 5 days, washed thoroughly, dried and re-weighed. Some of the samples corroded while some resisted corrosion. The differences in the weights of the samples, and hence their respective rates of corrosion were obtained depending on the reacting media. The values that were obtained, the weight loss and weight gain were used to determine the corrosion rates per unit area per unit time. Graphs of specific weight loss/gain against time were plotted for each medium and each sample. Based on our graphs and observations, we can say that the coated samples are more resistant to corrosion, and therefore more durable.