• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.6 no.6
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• pp.291-296
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• 2007

The corrosion of metals and alloys in flowing liquids can be classified into uniform corrosion and localized corrosion which may be categorized as follows. (1) Localized corrosion of the erosion-corrosion type: the protective oxide layer is assumed to be removed from the metal surface by shear stress or turbulence of the fluid flow. A macro-cell may be defined as a situation in which the bare surface is the macro-anode and the other surface covered with the oxide layer is the macro-cathode. (2) Localized corrosion of the differential flow-velocity corrosion type: at a location of lower fluid velocity, a thin and coarse oxide layer with poor protective qualities may be produced because of an insufficient supply of oxygen. A macro-cell may be defined as a situation in which this surface is the macro-anode and the other surface covered with a dense and stable oxide layer is the macro-cathode. (3) Localized corrosion of the active/passive-cell type: on a metal surface a macro-cell may be defined as a situation in which a part of it is in a passivation state and another in an active dissolution state. This situation may arise from differences in temperature as well as in the supply of the dissolved oxygen. Compared to uniform corrosion, localized corrosion tends to involve a higher wall thinning rate (corrosion rate) due to the macro-cell current as well as to the ratio of the surface area of the macro-anode to that of the macro-cathode, which may be rationalized using potential vs. current density diagrams. The three types of localized corrosion described above can be reproduced in a Jet-in-slit test by changing the flow direction of the test liquid and arranging environmental conditions in an appropriate manner.