Pitting Corrosion

Pitting corrosion, or pitting, is a form of extremely localized corrosion that leads to the creation of small holes in the metal. The driving power for pitting corrosion is the lack of oxygen around a small area. This area becomes anodic while the area with excess of oxygen becomes cathodic leading to very localized galvanic corrosion. Pitting can be initiated by a small surface defect, being a scratch or a local change in composition, or a damage to protective coating. Polished surfaces display higher resistance to pitting.

The corrosion penetrates the mass of the metal, with limited diffusion of ions, further pronouncing the localized lack of oxygen.

The mechanism of pitting corrosion is probably the same as crevice corrosion.

Causes of Pitting

Localized chemical or mechanical damage to the protective oxide film; water chemistry factors which can cause breakdown of a passive film are acidity, low dissolved oxygen concentrations (which tend to render a protective oxide film less stable) and high concentrations of chloride (as in seawater) .

Localized damage to, or poor application of, a protective coating.

The presence of non-uniformities in the metal structure of the component, e.g. nonmetallic inclusions

The environment may also set up a differential aeration cell (a water droplet on the surface of a steel, for example) and pitting can initiate at the anodic site (centre of the water droplet).

The ENVIRONMENT (chemistry) and the MATERIAL (metallurgy) factors determine whether an existing pit can be repassivated or not.

Sufficient aeration (supply of oxygen to the reaction site) may enhance the formation of oxide at the pitting site and thus repassivate or heal the damaged passive film (oxide) the pit is repassivated and no pitting occurs

An existing pit can also be repassivated if the material contains sufficient amount of alloying elements such as Cr, Mo, Ti, W, N, etc. These elements, particularly Mo, can significantly enhance the enrichment of Cr in the oxide and thus heals or repassivates the pit. Alloys most susceptible to pitting corrosion are usually the ones where corrosion resistance is caused by a passivation layer: stainless steels , aluminum alloys, and nickel alloys.

Combating Pitting
Means of pitting corrosion control:

Selection of appropriate material; Providing stirring of the electrolyte; Control of the electrolyte composition (PH, chloride ions); Corrosion inhibitors Cathodic protection Corrosion protection coatings