Numerical Analysis of Stainless Steel of Crevice Corrosion Initiation Behavior with Varying External Potentials and Initial Crevice Gaps

The potential, current density, pH, and crevice profile distribution within the crevice structure of stainless steel in seawater were numerically analyzed. The crevice corrosion phenomena were mathematically modeled with the initial boundary value problem of diffusion and static electrical field, respectively. This initial boundary value problem was discretized using a finite difference method. The predicts of the crevice corrosion behaviors, set for various external potentials and initial crevice gaps, were classified into three categories: the pitting type, the active type, and no corrosion. The pitting type crevice corrosion was predicted to occur in conditions where the external potentials were noble and the initial crevice gaps were narrow. The active type crevice corrosion was predicted to occur in conditions where the external potentials were less noble and the initial crevice gaps were narrow. The range of external potential conditions where crevice corrosion was predicted not to occur increased in conditions with wide initial crevice gaps. Crevice corrosion was predicted to occur at all external potentials in conditions where the initial crevice gaps were 2 μ m or less.