The effect of an inert solid deposit on uniform CO2 corrosion of mild steel is modeled based on a mechanistic electrochemical CO2 corrosion model. Laboratory testing has shown that the dominant factors introduced by the inert solids deposit are related to surface coverage, where both anodic and cathodic reaction rates are decreased because of less active surface area being exposed. The inert solid deposits also create a mass transfer barrier for corrosive species which limits the rate of the cathodic reactions. An existing mechanistic electrochemical model was modified to account for these effects and was capable of capturing the main features of uniform CO2 corrosion of mild steel under inert solid deposits.
Key words: underdeposit, CO2 corrosion, mild steel, model, mass transfer