Corrosion Factors

Abstract

Corrosion processes involve metal and environment properties through a variety of factors. From the metal side, chemical composition and microstructure play a major role. Chemical composition is also fundamental to define the electrolyte aggressiveness, together with its pH, temperature and the possible presence of bacteria. Other relevant operating conditions are pressure, fluid velocity, presence of mechanical stresses and exposure time. Even though is not easy to depict a general trend on how these factors influence corrosion, a rational approach is proposed for the interpretation, based on thermodynamics (equilibrium potential) and kinetics (Evans diagrams).