Filiform corrosion mechanism

The various types of localised corrosion have been enumerated in Table 1.2 in Section 1.1, and many of them are dealt with in some detail in other sections of this volume. For this reason this section will be confined to a consideration of the factors that give rise to crevice corrosion, filiform corrosion, pitting, selective leaching and erosion-corrosion and of the mechanisms of these forms of localised attack. 

The importance of occluded cells cannot be overemphasised, and Brown considers that pitting, crevice corrosion, intergranular attack, filiform corrosion and hydrogen cracking are characterised by local acidification due to hydrolysis of metal ions, and that this phenomenon is of major significance in the overall mechanism. 

Fig. 1.52 Mechanism of filiform corrosion showing how atmospheric oxygen and watCT enter the active head through the film (lacquer) and how water leaves through the inactive tail. This results in a high concentration of oxygen at the V -shaped interface between the tail and the head, and to a differential aeration cell (after Uhlig )...

Filiform corrosion of AZ 91 magnesium alloy has been studied in detail and the mechanism different from the conventional mechanism has been postulated. In this case dissolved oxygen is not necessary and the filiform propagation is fueled by hydrogen evolution at the filament head and is controlled by mass transfer due to the salt film on the tip of the filament.32,33... 

In addition to SO2 damage of synthetic and natural polymers, another destructive mechanism called "filiform" corrosion should... 

Filiform corrosion is characterized by formation of interconnecting filaments of corrosion under a paint film upon exposure to a humid environment. Filiform corrosion typically occurs only when the relative humidity exceeds about 65%. The mechanism is complicated and has been the subject of considerable discussion in the literature (, 1A, 2 1, 2, 24). Basically, a localized corrosion mechanism is responsible (Figure 8). The head of the growing filament is anodic, and as a result the filiform corrosion process has been termed a specialized form of anodic undermining... 

After the initiation step, blisters can grow by different mechanisms, known as cathodic delamination, anodic undermining or filiform corrosion (FFC). The first two shall be briefly described, whereas FFC, due to its specific characteristics, will be left for Sect. 5.4.3.3. 

Filiform corrosion occurs independent of light, metallurgical factors in the steel, and bacteria. Although threads are visible only under clear lacquers or varnishes, they probably also occur under opaque paint films. They have been observed under various types of paint vehicles and on various metals, including steel, zinc, aluminum, magnesium, and chromium-plated nickel. This type of corrosion takes place on steel only in air of high relative humidity (e.g., 65-95%). At 100% relative humidity, the threads may broaden to form blisters. They may not form at all if the film is relatively impermeable to water, as is stated to be the case for paraffin [17]. The mechanism appears to be a straightforward example of a differential aeration cell. 

The electrochemical mechanism of filiform corrosion is described by a differential aeration cell between the front (low oxygen concentration) and the back (open to air through the cracked/porous tail of dry corrosion products) of the filament s active head . Therefore, the head is the local anode and the tail the local cathode, the opposite to the cathodic delamination described earlier. This is shown in Fig. 7-67 where an optical photograph of the filiform head is compared to the potential distribution in air (center) and in nitrogen (right) (Schmidt and Stratmann, 1998). 

Filiform corrosion may occur on products coated with paint or lacquer, especially on lacquered products for buildings. It develops preferentially at coating defects (scratches, lacerations). Meteorological factors are of paramount importance because filiform corrosion occurs especially in marine and humid atmospheres and develops rather quickly, before the fifth year of exposure. While it does not affect the mechanical characteristics of aluminium semi-products, it degrades the overall appearance of a building (see Section B.2.6). 

Types of Corrosion Phenomena. The major categories of phenomena ( include uniform, localized, and pitting corrosion selective dissolution and corrosion acting together with a mechanical phenomenon. In uniform corrosion, all areas corrode at the same rate. Examples of uniform corrosion include tarnishing and active dissolution of metals in acids. In localized corrosion some areas corrode more readily than others crevice corrosion and filiform... 

By using the SKP (see Sect. 5.4.2.5), it was possible to measure the local potentials underneath an organic coating in situ without the deterioration of the corroding system [178]. The mechanism of FFC consisting of an anodic reaction at the corrosion front is reflected in rather different electrode potentials around the filament s head. Whereas, for cathodic undermining, the delamination front is positively polarized with respect to the already delaminated zone and the head of the filiform filament shows a negative potential with respect to the tail (Fig. 35) [178]. Therefore, the tip can be identified as the local anode and the local cathode is situated behind the anode within the tail. 

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