In a corrosion processes certain species will be “produced” at the metal surface (e.g. Fe2+) while others will be “depleted” (e.g. H+) via chemical reactions. The established concentration gradients will lead to molecular diffusion of the species towards and away from the surface. In cases when the diffusion processes are much faster than the electrochemical processes, the concentration change at the metal surface will be small. Vice versa, when the diffusion is unable to “keep up” with the speed of the electrochemical reactions, the concentration of species at the metal surface can become very different from the ones in the bulk solution. On the other hand, the rate of the electrochemical processes depends on the species concentrations at the surface. Therefore there exists a two-way coupling between the electrochemical processes at the metal surface (corrosion) and processes in the adjacent solution layer (i.e. diffusion in the boundary layer). An example of a mechanistic model covering such behaviour has been published.

Mass transfer is being coupled with CFD codes to investigate erosion-corrosion damage. For example see Keating's Masters Thesis (1999) incorporating mass tranfer in the prediction of erosion-corrosion damage in u-bend pipes.

Another example of Dr Nesic's mass transfer research is shown below, more maybe found in the list of publications-