Introducing a low-cost tool for 3D characterization of pitting corrosion in stainless steel

Herein, we propose an approach to three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction of corroded samples to have access to information about the shape, diameter, volume, depth, and spatial distribution of pits. For this purpose, a 304 stainless steel sample, after exposure to controlled corrosion conditions, was submitted to a sequence of polishing, surface image acquisition, and sample thickness measurement. This allows the 3D reconstruction of the sample using computational tomography. The analyses of the two-dimensional and the reconstructed three-dimensional images made it possible to evaluate all the geometric parameters of the pits as well as to compare these data with the electrochemical measurements recorded during the corrosion process. Graphical abstract