6.3 Elevation Above Ground

LaQue (1975) determined that elevation above the ground, in addition to distance from the ocean, affected rates of corrosion in tests at Kure Beach, NC. The tests showed that the rate of corrosion reached a peak at approximately 12 feet above the ground near the shoreline (see Figure 5), approximately equal to the lowest floor elevation of an elevated building with parking underneath. In several rows of buildings farther inland, the corrosion rate was found to be lower, but the rate was highest at an elevation above the roofs of small buildings. The tests also indicated that the highest corrosion rate near the ocean was more than twice the corrosion rate farther inland.