Application of the multichannel electrode method to monitoring of corrosion of steel in an artificial crevice

Crevice corrosion of iron was evaluated using the multichannel electrode method in which 10 individual working electrodes (WEs) of pure iron were embedded in resin, placed in an artificial crevice in the range from 0.5 mm to 2.0 mm, and immersed in 0.51 mol dm⁻³ NaCl solution. The WEs were connected to an electronic circuit which allowed galvanic coupling between them and measurement of their individual coupling current or open circuit potential. Time-transient of the spatial distribution of coupling current and open circuit potential showed sequential transition of the coupling current on WEs at the middle position of the crevice from cathode to anode. The WE near the opening of the crevice initially showed a large anodic current, then a decreasing the anodic current corresponding to the current transition of other WEs, and finally a large cathodic current coupled with the other anodic WEs in the crevice. The transition of coupling current was explained by the change in pH and concentration of dissolved oxygen in the crevice. Thickness of the gap of the artificial crevice affected the transition behavior of coupling current distribution. For example, slower current transition with smaller coupling current was found in the case of a narrower gap. Such properties were related to the introduction and consumption of dissolved oxygen in the crevice solution and the circulation of gap solution from/to the outside of the crevice.