Classic Evans’s Drop Corrosion Experiment Investigated in Terms of a Tertiary Current and Potential Distribution

Abstract

Background: Evans’s drop is a classic corrosion experiment that is nearly 100 years old, and it is analogous to other corrosion systems promoted by O2 gradients. The availability of more robust finite element software packages opens the possibility to reach a deeper understanding of these kind of corrosion systems. Methodology: In order to solve the problem, the model includes the governing mass transport diffusion and migration equation and the material balance in a nonsteady state by the finite element method. This is performed using COMSOL Multiphysics to predict the tertiary current and potential distribution considering the geometry, reaction kinetics, and mass transport for each ionic species. Significant Findings: A simulation of the tertiary current and potential distribution of the Evans’s drop corrosion experiment on an iron surface is presented. An oxygen concentration difference of 0.18 mol m−3 between the center and the drop periphery sets up a potential difference of 60 mV which acts as a corrosion driving force. Reaction kinetics are described by Tafel equations. Results include the evolution of concentration profiles for OH−, Fe2+, Fe3+, Fe(OH)2, and Fe(OH)3.