Cellular automata modeling on uniform corrosion behavior of solid copper in gallium-based liquid metals

Abstract

A two-dimensional cellular automata model is developed to investigate the uniform corrosion of copper substrate covered by gallium-based liquid metals. A set of transformation rules are defined to describe reaction mechanism with Ga concentration gradient as a threshold. A random walk process is used to simulate diffusion of gallium atoms based on Margolus neighbors. Through comparing with short-term and long-term corrosion test data, the model shows high accuracy in describing diffusion of gallium and formation of multi-layered intermetallic compounds. Sensitivity analysis points out that growth rate of corrosion layers is mainly determined by gallium mass fraction in liquid metal and diffusion probability in Cu. The corrosion layer thickness over time follows the parabolic curve $\delta \sim t^{0.5}$, and the fitting parameter is mainly determined by alloy compositions.