Nonequilibrium collective phenomena in the onset of pitting corrosion

Nonequilibrium collective phenomena and effects of nonlinear pattern formation play the crucial role in the onset of pitting corrosion on stainless steels. Such materials are naturally protected by the oxide layer covering their surface. The onset of pitting corrosion involves the development of microscopic metastable pits, each persisting for about a second. As proposed in our publications and confirmed in subsequent experiments, sudden transition to active corrosion results from chain reproduction of metastable pits on the stainless steel surface leading to an autocatalytic explosion.