In-operando analysis of the corrosion patterns and rates under magnetic fields using metallic film

Abstract

Magnets, or electromagnets, are common components in everyday appliances and are widely used in medicine, industries, transportation, and electrical power systems. It is known that the magnetic field (B) can mitigate or aggravate metallic corrosion; however, this apparent contradictory effect is still not fully understood. In this study, we demonstrate a simple method to monitor in-operando the effect of permanent magnets (B) on corrosion processes using metallic film (copper clad laminate), FeCl3 solution as corrosive medium, and digital camera to record the experiments. The results show that homogeneous and inhomogeneous B decrease or increase the corrosion rate, respectively. The homogeneous and inhomogeneous B also shows different corrosion patterns and induces rotation of the corrosive medium indicating the presence of the Lorentz force. The procedure proposed can also be applied to other metals and corrosive media providing valuable information on the corrosion process in the presence of B in several environmental conditions.