A Chemical Treatment for Mercury Accidentally Spilled in Aircraft.

摘要

Tests were made to determine the susceptibility of commercially pure aluminium, and of high strength Al-Zn-Mg-Cu and Al-Cu alloys to embrittlement by mercury. Commercially pure aluminium to BS L16 is not embrittled by mercury. DTD 5050B (Al-Zn-Mg-Cu) is very susceptible to mercury embrittlement; cracking occurred when the alloy was stressed in the short transverse direction at 5% of the 0.2% proof stress. DTD 5020A (Al-Cu) is more resistant to mercury embrittlement, although it cracked when stressed in the short transverse direction at 60% of the 0.2% proof stress. A Chemical technique using silver nitrate was developed to immobilise and render relatively harmless any elemental mercury accidentally spilled in aircraft. The corrosion and stress-corrosion hazards to alloys DTD 5020A and DTD 5050B, associated with silver nitrate and the products of its reaction with mercury, have been investigated. (Author)