Comparison of Chemically and Electrolytically Induced Pitting Corrosion

Abstract

Abstract Pitting of zirconium and stainless steel in acidic and near-neutral chloride media has been investigated. It is shown that controlled potential and conventional chemical corrosion tests do not yield similar rates or types of attack under identical environmental conditions. Such discrepancies limit critical pitting potential measurements and related techniques for evaluating and comparing pitting in halide environments. A theoretical explanation based on the accumulation of chloride at anodically polarized electrode surfaces is presented.