Effect of the Polarization Technique on Dezincification Rates and the Physical Structure of Dezincified Zones

Accelerated dezincification has been produced by employing anodic polarization techniques. Polarizing currents were supplied either potentiostatically or by means of a constant voltage method. Extensive use of both techniques has been made; it was found that although rates of dezincification produced by the constant voltage method were slightly lower, there is less scatter of results. Furthermore, the constant voltage method proved to be the more suitable for research into the physical structure of dezincified areas, because anodically-produced dezincification was accompanied by less uniform corrosion and pitting.