In a typical situation when hauling gravel or rocks, a harder plate will make the best choice when it comes to fighting wear. However, sometimes the load is corrosive in addition to being abrasive, making the picture much more complicated. The steel’s surface will start to oxidize in the presence of highly corrosive environments, and wear will increase several times over when the abrasive material wears on the oxide layer. Studies on wear in sea water have indicated that material loss can be up to 10 times higher. The level of corrosion depends on the temperature, type of acid, chlorides and surface roughness, among other parameters.