The effect of electrolyte stirring and laminar flow on measured electrochemical noise

摘要

In the present paper the influence of various types of electrolyte movement on the characteristics of measured electrochemical noise (EN) has been investigated. For this reason the measurements were performed during different phases: in a still solution, during stirring, as well as in laminar flow. In order to relate the measured EN to the development of corrosion processes, digitized images of the electrodes were recorded continuously during these measurements. After the tests were finished, the corroded electrode surfaces were examined also by the scanning electron microscope (SEM). It was established that the characteristics of EN, in general, change significantly with the movement of the solution. On the other hand, no clear difference was observed between the EN signals measured during stirring and those obtained during laminar flow. This observation, combined with the results obtained in a passive environment and in a very aggressive still solution, confirmed that the main source for the change of EN characteristics during electrolyte movement is the transformation of corrosion processes. The direct effect of the electrolyte movement on the measured EN (modulation of signals due to spatio-temporal flow disturbances) was found to be insignificant compared to the influence of the corrosion processes themselves.