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DifferentTypesofCorrosion
Recognition,Mechanisms&Prevention

PittingCorrosion Recognition

Whatispittingcorrosion?PittingCorrosionisthelocalizedcorrosion ofametalsurfaceconfinedtoapointorsmall area,thattakestheformofcavities.Pittingisoneofthemostdamagingformsofcorrosion.Pittingfactoristheratio ofthedepthofthedeepestpitresultingfromcorrosiondividedbytheaveragepenetrationascalculatedfromweight loss. The following photo shows pitting corrosion of SAF2304 duplex stainless steel after exposure to 3.5% NaCl solution.

Pittingcorrosionformsonpassivemetalsandalloyslikestainlesssteelwhentheultrathinpassivefilm(oxidefilm)is chemicallyormechanicallydamagedanddoesnotimmediatelyrepassivate.Theresultingpitscanbecomewideand shallowornarrowanddeepwhichcanrapidlyperforatethewallthicknessofametal.

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ASTMG46hasastandardvisualchartforratingofpittingcorrosion. Theshapeofpittingcorrosioncanonlybeidentifiedthroughmetallographywhereapittedsampleiscrosssectioned andtheshapethesizeandthedepthofpenetrationcanbedetermined.

Mechanisms
What causes pitting corrosion? For a defectfree "perfect" material, pitting corrosion IS caused by the ENVIRONMENT (chemistry) that may contain aggressive chemical species such as chloride. Chloride is particularly damagingtothepassivefilm(oxide)sopittingcaninitiateatoxidebreaks. Theenvironmentmayalsosetupadifferentialaerationcell(awaterdropletonthesurfaceofasteel,forexample) andpittingcaninitiateattheanodicsite(centreofthewaterdroplet). Forahomogeneousenvironment,pittingIScausedbytheMATERIAL thatmaycontaininclusions(MnSisthemajor culprit for the initiation of pitting in steels) or defects. In most cases, both the environment and the material contributetopitinitiation. The ENVIRONMENT (chemistry) and the MATERIAL (metallurgy) factors determine whether an existing pit can be repassivatedornot.Sufficientaeration(supplyofoxygentothereactionsite)mayenhancetheformationofoxideat thepittingsiteandthusrepassivateorhealthedamagedpassivefilm(oxide) thepitisrepassivatedandnopitting occurs.Anexistingpitcanalsoberepassivatedifthematerialcontainssufficientamountofalloyingelementssuchas Cr,Mo,Ti,W,N,etc..Theseelements,particularlyMo,cansignificantlyenhancetheenrichmentofCrintheoxide andthushealsorrepassivatesthepit.Moredetailsonthealloyingeffects can befound in thetechnicalpaper on "StainlessSteelsandAlloys:WhyTheyResistCorrosionandHowTheyFail".

Prevention
Howtopreventpittingcorrosion?Pittingcorrosion canbepreventedthrough:

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Properselectionofmaterialswithknownresistancetotheserviceenvironment ControlpH,chlorideconcentrationandtemperature Cathodicprotectionand/orAnodicProtection Usehigheralloys(ASTMG48)forincreasedresistancetopittingcorrosion

Formoredetails
Moredetailsonpittingcorrosionareincludedinthefollowingcorrosioncourseswhichyoucantakeasinhouse trainingcourses,onlinecoursesordistancelearningcourses: CorrosionandItsPrevention(5daymodule) CorrosionandItsPrevention(2daymodule) Corrosion,Metallurgy,FailureAnalysisandPrevention(3days) MarineCorrosion,CausesandPrevention(2days) MaterialsSelectionandCorrosion(2days) StainlessSteelsandAlloys:WhyTheyResistCorrosionandHowTheyFail(2days)

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