Corrosion Compatibility Comparison
Compatibility Rating Legend
Corrosion Compatibility Calculator looks up how well a specific material (stainless steel, alloy, plastic…) withstands a given chemical at various concentrations and temperatures. Use it as the first checkpoint when selecting piping materials, chemical plant equipment, laboratory glassware substitutes, or storage tank construction.
Corrosion progresses quietly, but the losses are enormous — estimates commonly cited put global annual corrosion damage at around 3% of world GDP, and leaks caused by wrong material selection lead directly to safety incidents, not just product loss. A few minutes of checking can prevent enormous costs.
The color-coded ratings (A–D) interpret uniform corrosion from public resistance data. Each result includes a link to the original source table — make it a habit to check the underlying values before finalizing a design.
- 1
Select the material
Pick the material under consideration (e.g., SUS304, SUS316, PVC, PTFE). Query several candidates to compare them side by side.
- 2
Search the chemical
Type the substance you handle (Korean or English names and formulas supported). Each result links to its source data.
- 3
Choose concentration and temperature
Select the row/column closest to your actual process conditions. If dilution or heating occurs anywhere in the line, judge by the worst case within that range.
- 4
Read the rating
A (green) = excellent, B (yellow) = fair, C (orange) = limited use, D (red) = unsuitable. At C or below, consider alternate materials or protective measures such as coatings or linings.
Example 1 — Where plastics shine
Suppose you are routing piping for dilute hydrochloric acid at room temperature. Stainless SUS316 might come to mind first, but chloride-rich environments pose pitting risk to it. Querying PVC under the same conditions often returns excellent ratings across a wide concentration band at ambient temperature — the first lesson here being that metal is not always the answer.
Example 2 — When temperature flips the verdict
Dilute sulfuric acid can be marginally tolerated by some stainless grades at room temperature, yet at 60–80 ℃ the same concentration often falls into the unsuitable (D) zone as corrosion rates climb steeply. Keep the concentration row fixed and move across temperature columns — watching a rating collapse from A to D over one variable change is the best way to learn this tool.
* These scenarios illustrate typical tendencies; always confirm actual ratings in the source table linked from your query.
- Temperature matters as much as concentration. A 20 ℃ rise often drops a rating by two steps — query at your maximum process temperature.
- Ratings reflect uniform corrosion only. Localized mechanisms — pitting, crevice, stress-corrosion cracking — need separate review, especially for stainless steels in chloride service.
- Mixtures do not behave like their ingredients. For blended liquids such as cleaning agents, run the query on the mixture condition itself.
- Welds and surface finish are frequent weak points — heat-affected zones often corrode before the parent metal does.
- For critical equipment, follow up with the original data tables, manufacturer datasheets, and where appropriate a materials engineer. Treat this tool as a first-pass screen.
QDoes an A rating guarantee the material is safe?
An A rating means only that uniform corrosion is very slow — it does not certify safety against every failure mechanism. Stainless steels, for example, can suffer sudden pitting or crevice corrosion in chloride environments even when overall mass loss is negligible, and stress-corrosion cracking is not captured by these tables either. Even with an A rating, real designs must separately review temperature excursions and localized attack.
QWhere does this data come from?
The ratings are based on the publicly published corrosion tables of Alleima (formerly Sandvik Materials Technology), a specialty-steel manufacturer. Clicking the link next to each chemical name in the results opens the original source table, where you can inspect exact values by concentration and temperature.
QHow do I interpret concentrations or temperatures not listed in the table?
Interpret conservatively: adopt the rating of the nearest more-severe condition — higher concentration or higher temperature. If a table lists only 20% and 30% but your process runs at 25%, use the 30% rating. Corrosion rates typically worsen non-linearly as concentration and temperature rise, so linear interpolation between rows is unsafe.
QCan I look up mixtures of two or more chemicals?
Yes, but read the result carefully. The tool supports up to three components and shows exactly what the source table says for that specific mixture. For arbitrary blend ratios not covered by the table, remember that a combination can corrode far faster than any individual ingredient suggests — look for published data matching your actual composition or verify with immersion testing.
QHow should I treat a borderline (C) rating?
C means 'limited use': the corrosion rate may be acceptable depending on required service life and inspection/replacement intervals. A C-rated pipe material is probably wrong for a 10-year design life, yet could be economical for frequently replaced consumable parts. Decide together with your required lifetime, maintenance schedule, and safety factor.