Work Package 3

Modelling of corrosion processes at micro- and nanoscales

Lead Beneficiary:  VUB

Involved Partners: VUB, ELS, TUD, UNIUD

Objectives: The main objectives of WP3 are: i) Development of a numerical model to study and predict corrosion in systems with decreasing electrolyte layer thickness (< ~500 μm). Under these conditions, wet corrosion takes place under oxygen diffusion control, which strongly depends on the electrolyte layer thickness. This applies to many corrosion systems in biological and electronic environments as small electrolyte dimensions dominate the corrosion rates.  ii) The implementation and validation of a mathematically sound deterministic pitting corrosion model that includes conservation equations for the pit population and kinetic equations for the accumulation rate of metastable and stable pits, and for the re-passivation of large pits. This type of corrosion is mainly governed by local potential differences at the surface induced by precipitates. The aim is to bring in the local electrochemical effects in the numerical modelling.