Selfsimilar solutions for stress driven material dissolution

During corrosive dissolution of metal ions from a body surface, an oxide compound is produced. This compound forms a protective film that reduces the dissolution rate. When a fraction of a millimetre depth is dissolved the dissolution rate become insignificant. However, repeated loading will damage the film with continued dissolution as a result. In connection with this a threshold strain is assumed to exist. This paper proposes a model where electro- chemical processes and the mechanical load work together in forming a corrosion pit. The ratio between the threshold strain and the remotely applied strain is shown to control the shape of the pit. For small applied strains cracks are formed. A crack evolving from a surface irregularity is studied. The growth rate of the crack is determined by the dissolution rate at the crack tip. No crack growth criterion is needed. The growing crack is itself creating conditions for strain concentration, which leads to a high crack growth rate. The model simulates how dissolution forms a pit that grows to become a crack in a single continuous process. For small loads the crack growth rate is independent of applied load