Observations of aluminum pit initiation using in situ liquid cell transmission electron microscopy

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Authors
Pinkowitz, Ainsley Caitlyn Shelburne
Issue Date
2018-12
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Electronic thesis
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ENG
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Materials engineering
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Abstract
Pitting corrosion is a pernicious form of localized corrosion, occurring unpredictably in time and space across the surface of metals with passive or barrier oxides. Passivation is found as a naturally formed oxide layer on aluminum, aluminum alloys, and other common structural materials such as titanium and steel. Typically this passivation layer serves as a diffusion barrier to prevent corrosive reactions at the metal/electrolyte interface, however, breakdown in the passivation layer can lead to extremely localized attack, known as a pit. Passivity breakdown is typically associated with the chloride anion, ubiquitous in seawater, rainwater, and soil. Pit growth is autocatalytic once stable, and can rapidly penetrate materials. This creates difficult-to-detect flaws in the material which can become crack initiation sites, or holes. At best these corrosion pits are detected with rigorous inspection and person-hours—at worst, they can lead to catastrophic disasters such as oil pipeline spills and offshore rig explosions.
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December 2018
School of Engineering
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Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY
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