Phase-field simulations opening new horizons in corrosion research

TL;DR

This paper reviews recent advances in phase-field modelling for corrosion, highlighting its ability to predict corrosion evolution and structural integrity challenges through detailed mesoscale simulations.

Contribution

It introduces the application of phase-field modelling to corrosion, enabling explicit simulation of physical processes and development of mechanistic corrosion models.

Findings

Enables tracking electrolyte-metal interface

Simulates mesoscale physical processes

Captures key corrosion phenomena

Abstract

This work overviews a new, recent success of phase-field modelling: its application to predicting the evolution of the corrosion front and the associated structural integrity challenges. Despite its important implications for society, predicting corrosion damage has been an elusive goal for scientists and engineers. The application of phase-field modelling to corrosion not only enables tracking the electrolyte-metal interface but also provides an avenue to explicitly simulate the underlying mesoscale physical processes. This lays the grounds for developing the first generation of mechanistic corrosion models, which can capture key phenomena such as film rupture and repassivation, the transition from activation- to diffusion-controlled corrosion, interactions with mechanical fields, microstructural and electrochemical effects, intergranular corrosion, material biodegradation, and the interplay with other environmentally-assisted damage phenomena such as hydrogen embrittlement.