Automotive corrosion expertise: testing and material qualification
Do you need accelerated corrosion testing or automotive corrosion expertise to qualify your materials and coatings ? The French Corrosion Institute supports industrial stakeholders with testing, expertise and simulation services to secure performance and meet normative requirements. Our teams carry out accredited accelerated corrosion tests recognised by the leading OEMs, as well as fatigue-corrosion and hydrogen embrittlement testing, in support of R&D, quality and materials departments at automotive suppliers and manufacturers – at every stage of your product development cycle.
Your industrial challenges in automotive corrosion
Automotive components made from advanced high-strength steels (AHSS) or coated aluminium alloys are exposed to severe conditions: humidity, de-icing salts, thermal cycling and mechanical stress. These combined factors accelerate corrosion and material ageing. Durability requirements and environmental constraints are increasingly stringent. Accurately replicating these conditions in the laboratory is essential to qualify your materials and validate your protection systems.
- Representative accelerated corrosion testing – simulation of real-world exposure conditions (salt spray, humidity/drying cycles, thermal ageing). According to Renault, Volvo, VDA and Scania standards.
- Mechanical-corrosion expertise – assessment of hydrogen embrittlement, stress corrosion cracking and fatigue-corrosion on welded or bonded assemblies.
- OEM qualification support – validation of components and protection systems for manufacturers, including coatings compliant with REACH requirements.
Our missions
Our automotive corrosion expertise covers the entire development cycle, from material selection through to in-service failure analysis. Need to validate a new anticorrosion coating? Qualify a high-strength stamped steel component? Understand a premature degradation mechanism ? Our teams work with you to define the testing programme best suited to your technical, normative and scheduling constraints.
- Develop accelerated corrosion tests representative of real-world operating conditions.
- Gain a deeper understanding of corrosion mechanisms in automotive materials and assemblies.
- Evaluate the performance of environmentally friendly protection systems (e.g. REACH-compliant coatings).
- Study the combined effect of corrosion and fatigue on structures and assemblies (welding, bonding, etc.).
- Provide real-time corrosion and environmental monitoring solutions for the in-service tracking of structures and components.
- Develop accelerated corrosion tests representative of real operating conditions.
- Gain a better understanding of corrosion mechanisms affecting materials and assemblies used in the automotive industry.
- Assess the performance of environmentally friendly protection systems (e.g. REACH-compliant coatings).
- Study the combined effects of corrosion and fatigue on structures and assemblies (welding, bonding, etc.).
- Provide real-time monitoring solutions for corrosion and environmental parameters to track structures and components in service.
Our automotive corrosion testing services
The French Corrosion Institute has all the resources needed to meet the requirements of the automotive industry. Our accelerated corrosion tests are accredited by leading manufacturers. We also cover advanced characterisation and tests combining mechanical loading with corrosive environments. Our equipment allows rapid turnaround, including on large-format components. We also participate in co-funded collaborative projects – JIPs and European projects – to share R&D costs on issues common to the sector.
- Technical consulting and expertise : material selection, failure analysis
- Laboratory testing to industry standards :Renault D17/2028, Volvo STD423-0014, VDA621-415, VDA 233-102, ….
- Salt spray testing, accelerated aging, fatigue corrosion
- Real-world testing : vehicle exposures (RISE – Sweden), and via our atmospheric exposure sites in France
- Determination of atmospheric corrosivity (C2 to CX for steel)
- Supply of real-time corrosion (corrosion potential, humidity, temperature, galvanic coupling currents)
- Stress corrosion cracking and hydrogen embrittlement testing on AHSS
- Advanced characterization: electrochemistry, SKP, Raman spectroscopy, SEM, hydrogen analysis
Our accreditations in the automotive sector
Our laboratory is accredited by the automotive sector to verify and validate the performance of automotive components:
- Renault (ECC1, …)
- Volvo (STD 423-0014, STD 423-0069, VCS 1027,149, VCS 1027,1449)
- Scania (STD 4319, STD 4445)
Would you like to find out more about our services?
Contact us :brest@institut-corrosion.fr
More information about our testing capabilities and services for the automotive industry
Our capacities for accelerated corrosion testing
Our capacities for mechanical corrosion testing
Corrosion montoring with sensors
Our exposure sites under natural conditions
Frequently Asked Questions – Automotive corrosion testing
1. What accelerated corrosion tests are available for automotive components ?
We carry out accelerated corrosion tests accredited by the main automotive OEMs: salt spray (ISO 9227), combined cyclic tests (Renault D17/2028, Volvo STD423-0014, VDA 621-415, VDA 233-102, Scania). Our automotive corrosion expertise covers both metallic materials and organic coatings on components of all sizes. → Contact us for a testing quote
2. How do you assess hydrogen embrittlement in high-strength steels for automotive applications ?
Hydrogen embrittlement is a critical risk for AHSS used in body-in-white and chassis components. Our automotive corrosion expertise includes slow strain rate testing (SSRT), sustained load testing and fracture mechanics testing under hydrogen-charging conditions, representative of electrocoating or in-service exposure. → Learn more about our hydrogen embrittlement testing
3. Can you test fatigue-corrosion on welded or bonded automotive assemblies ?
Yes. Our fatigue-corrosion testing capabilities allow us to assess the combined effect of mechanical cycling and corrosive environments on welded joints, adhesively bonded assemblies and multi-material structures. This automotive corrosion expertise is particularly relevant for structural components exposed to road conditions. → Learn more about our fatigue-corrosion testing
4. Do you support OEM qualification processes for coatings and surface treatments ?
Yes. We assist suppliers in qualifying their coatings and surface treatments against OEM specifications (Renault, Volvo, Scania, VDA). Our automotive corrosion expertise includes the selection of representative test protocols, interpretation of results and support for technical documentation submitted to the OEM qualification departments. → Contact our automotive corrosion experts