Patent ID: 7368050

Claim:
A method for calculating localized corrosion of an electrically conductive article comprising: (b) placing a working electrode, a reference electrode, and a counter electrode in an environment of interest, wherein the working electrode has substantially the same composition as the electrically conductive article; (c) placing the working electrode under potentiostatic control; (d) measuring a current transient between the working electrode and the counter electrode; (e) measuring a potential transient substantially over a duration of a localized corrosion event; and (f) calculating the localized corrosion based on the measured potential transient and current transient, wherein the localized corrosion event is selected from the group consisting of: (i) a pit having a surface area ii) a pit having a depth of penetration iii) a pit having a rate of penetration, and iv) a volume of metal displaced, and wherein the rate of penetration of a pit is calculated based on a rate of change of the measured potential transient and current transient, and wherein the geometry of a pit is calculated based on the measured potential transient.