An experimental study of the quasi-two-dimensional corrosion of aluminum foils and a comparison with two-dimensional computer simulations

The propagation of a (1 + 1)-dimensional corrosion front into a quasi-two-dimensional aluminum foil confined in an electrochemically inert thin cell was studied experimentally. The corrosion experiments were carried out under controlled electrochemical and flow conditions leading to corrosion fronts consisting of isolated and coalesced pits. The geometry of digitized images of these disorderly corrosion fronts was analyzed quantitatively. A two-dimensional computer model these disorderly corrosion fronts was analyzed quantitatively. A two-dimensional computer model that includes passivation and depassivation processes was used to simulate the corrosion fronts and the simulated fronts were compared quantitatively and qualitatively with the experimental results. Unlike earlier passivation/depassivation models, this model includes the increasing electrolyte concentration in corrosion pits during the corrosion process, leading to the development of a more corrosive environment in the pits.