Effect of impurities and electrolyte thickness on degradation of pure magnesium: A finite element study

Highlights: ► Degradation of Mg due to the presence of impurities by finite element method. ► A thin film of electrolyte causes galvanic corrosion focused only close on impurities. ► A thick layer of electrolyte provokes galvanic corrosion extended the whole surface. ► A higher number of impurities causes galvanic corrosion on the Mg surface independently of electrolyte thickness. ► The electrolyte thickness is an important variable that affects the in vivo degradation. - Abstract: The aim of this work is to study the degradation of magnesium due to the presence of impurities, by finite element method (FEM), when different thickness of physiological medium bathes the surface. The electrochemical experimental data obtained from polarization curves are used to model mathematically the corrosion process by solving the Laplace equation and the proper boundary conditions by means of FEM. The results show that when Mg is covered by a thin film of electrolyte, galvanic corrosion is focused only on the areas located really close to the cathodic sites, and far from the impurities, the Mg matrix remains near to its corrosion potential with a natural corrosion process. However, if the Mg matrix is completely covered by a thick layer of electrolyte the potentials obtained in the Mg surface far from the impurity are higher than its corrosion potential, so the Mg suffers more severe galvanic corrosion. On the other hand, when a higher number of impurities is considered, the Mg matrix is anodically polarized and it suffers severe galvanic corrosion, independently of h. The thickness of the electrolyte h must be considered as an important variable that affects the in vivo degradation.