Growth and Repassivation of Single Corrosion Pits in Stainless Steel

Abstract

Single pits were produced in AISI 304 stainless steel using a neutral 1M sodium chloride solution with 0.04M sodium thiosulfate. The dependence of pit growth kinetics on potential was measured electrochemically. The protection potential showed a small scatter for the 80 pits examined and had no systematic dependence on pit size. The results are interpreted using a simple ohmic model of pit growth.