Revealing the relationship between grain size and corrosion rate of metals

A definitive understanding of how grain size affects the corrosion rate and passivity of different metallic alloys has not been developed to date. A review of the pertinent literature, combined with the authors' works, reveals that a relationship exists between corrosion rate and grain size. This phenomenon correlates with total grain boundary length and reveals an important fundamental relationship that can be exploited for material durability and design. (c) 2010 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.