General understanding of outdoor bronze corrosion

This article aims to enhance the understanding of outdoor bronze alteration in light of a general model, take into account recent developments and according to exposure conditions (sheltered and unsheltered areas). The behaviour of the other alloying elements such as Sn, Zn and Pb is also mentioned. The importance of run-off effects inducing decuprification, the selective copper dissolution of bronze, is underlined on the basis of multi-scale investigation conducted both on natural patinas of outdoor monuments and on corrosion simulation performed in laboratory. A bronze disease affects outdoor bronze: in sheltered areas, bronze corrosion proceeds from a cyclic phenomenon linked to the repeated action of combined runoff and rainfall events.