The use of SPIK may help in the
assessment of new corrosion inhibitors for primers and conversion coatings and in
the optimisation of their use. For example information on the SPIK would help in
determining the rate at which the inhibitor is required to be leached from a primer
to prevent pitting. The modelling of corrosion of aluminium alloys is also receiving
greater interest from both aircraft manufacturers and maintainers. They can see
financial benefits in being able to more accurately determine the likelihood of structurally
significant corrosion damage developing [4,5]. The probability of stable pits
being formed in an expected environment is clearly a prerequisite of any such pitting
corrosion models. A test technique that will determine the probability of stable pit
formation on aluminium and other passive metals, that can be measured quickly
and easily in different environments would be very useful.