A Microprocessor-Based Corrosion Measurement System

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Abstract
An instrument for the performance of electrochemical corrosion measurements has been developed, which includes a 16-bit built-in microprocessor. Electrochemical corrosion measurements, by their very nature, benefit by being placed under microprocessor control. These measurements include pretimed equilibration periods, examination of corrosion potentials for stability, initiation of scans at potentials relative to the corrosion potential, and reversal of scans at selected potentials or current densities or both. Similarly, the calculations usually performed on electrochemical corrosion rate data can be performed and even optimized through the use of a built-in microprocessor. The instrument described here utilizes the microprocessor as completely as possible—to define the measurement, perform the experiment, and replay the data in a format that is most meaningful to the operator. This paper will describe in detail how the microprocessor is utilized to set up an experiment, acquire, validate, and store the experimental data, and then recall all, or selected portions, of that data. Typical applications of the instrument will be described in detail showing how the device can be used for the evaluation of potentiodynamic polarizations, cyclic polarizations, Tafel plots, polarization resistance plots, galvanic corrosion measurements, corrosion behavior diagrams, sensitization tests, and current integration measurements of a number of typical alloys in a variety of corrosive environments. The advantages enjoyed by a microprocessor-based device as compared to an analog instrument will be described.

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