BASIC CONCEPTS

OF
CORROSION

Introduction

Corrosion refers to a process that involves deterioration or

degradation of metal. The most common example of corrosion
is the formation of rust on steel. Most corrosion phenomena
are of electrochemical nature and consist of at least two
reactions on the surface of the corroding metal.

One of the reactions is the oxidation (e.g., dissolution of iron)

also referred to as the anodic partial reaction.

The other is a reduction reaction(e.g., reduction of oxygen), and

is referred to as the cathodic partial reaction.

The products of the electrochemical reactions can react with each

other non-electrochemically to form the final product (e.g., rust).

For example, the corrosion of iron to form rust

proceeds according to the overall reaction:
2 Fe + 2 H2O + O22 Fe(OH)2

This reaction includes the dissolution of

iron, the reduction of oxygen and formation
of rust:

Fe Fe2++ 2 e-(anodic)
2 H2O + O2+ 4 e-4 OH-(cathodic)
2 Fe2++ 4 OH-2 Fe(OH)2(chemical)

Types of Corrosion

Uniform Corrosion
Uniform corrosion is characterized by corrosive attack
proceeding evenly over the entire surface area.This is the
most widespread form of corrosion that is observed.
Pitting corrosion
Pitting corrosion is a localized form of corrosion by which pits
or "pin holes" are produced in the material. Pitting is
considered to be more dangerous than uniform corrosion
damage because it is more difficult to predict and design
against Corrosion products often cover the pits making the
detection often very difficult. A small, narrow pit with minimal
overall metal loss can lead to the failure of an entire
engineering system

Advantage

Corrosion of aluminium is useful.

Corrosion of Aluminium occurs when the
metal is exposed to oxygen, according
to the following reaction :
4 Al(s) + 3 O2 (g) 2 Al2O3 (s)
Thus a protective layer of aluminium
oxide is formed on the surface of the
metal, which renders the metal passive
and prevents its further corrosion.

Disadvantage

Disadvantages of corrosion include loss,

contamination, and deterioration of the
appearance of a material

need to spend more money in order to

maintain or keep machines from
stopping/failing due to corrosion

PRINCIPLES OF CORROSION

Metalic corrosion reaction are

electrochemical in nature.
An electrochemical reaction is
associated with charge transfer in
addition to mass transfer.
All electrochemical reaction may be
split into two or more partial oxidation
and reduction reaction

Electrochemical Cell

1)
2)
3)

4)

Every electrochemical corrosion cell must have four

component.
The Anode metal is corroding
The Cathode (electronic conductor) whose surface
sites for environment to react
The Electrolyte (the aqueous environment) in
contact with both anode and cathode to provide a
part of ionic conduction
The electrical connection between the anode and
cathode to allow electron to flow between them

ELECTROCHEMICAL
CORROSION

Quantitative corrosion theory

(TAFEL EQUATION)

I= the current resulting from the reaction

I0 = a reaction dependent constant called
the
Exchange Current
E= the electrode potential
Eo = the equilibrium potential (constant for
a given reaction)
= the reaction's Tafel Constant (constant
for a given reaction). Beta has units of
volts/decade

The Tafel equations for both the anodic and cathodic reactions in a
corrosion system can be combined to generate the Butler-Volmer
Equation
where,
I=the measured cell current in amps
Icorr= the corrosion current in amps
E= the electrode potential
Eoc= the corrosion potential in volts
a = the anodic Beta Tafel Constant in volts/decade
c = the cathodic Beta Tafel Constant in volts/decade

PILLING BEDWORTH
RATIO

DEFINITION
The Pilling Bedworth ratio, (P-B ratio) R, of a metal
oxide is defined as the ratio of the volume of the
metal oxide, which is produced by the reaction of
metal and oxygen, to the consumed metal volume.
On the basis of the P-B ratio, it can be judged if the
metal is likely to passive in dry air by creation of a
protective oxide.

 According to it an oxide layer is protective &

non-porous when the volume of the oxide is
greater or same as the volume of metal from which
it is formed.
If volume of oxide is less than volume of metal,
oxide layer is porous & non-protective.
In alkali & alkaline earth metal, if volume of
oxide is less than volume of metal, consequently, it
develops cracks on the metal.