Development of the cyclic potentiodynamic polarization (CPP) technique and interpretation of the resulting curves was based primarily upon the stainless steel-aqueous chloride system. This paper presents and interprets CPP curves for this and other alloy-environment systems. It was concluded from the analysis of CPP curves for these systems that both a forward and a reverse scan, should be performed in order to maximize the information on localized corrosion obtainable from the test technique. The pitting potential, which is one parameter obtained from a CPP curve, is a non-conservative parameter for assessing susceptibility of a metal to pitting corrosion while the protection potential is a much more conservative parameter. While conducting CPP tests, attempts to eliminate preferred initiation sites on a metal surface will generally increase the variability in the CPP test results. For some alloy
-environment systems, it may be necessary to produce consistent preferred sites for pit initiation, such as the specimen holder-specimen interface, in order to maximize reproducibility of the CPP test results. Hysteresis in CPP curves is not always associated with pitting or crevice corrosion and thus, all specimens should be examined following testing to establish the morphology of attack. Cathodic loops can complicate interpretation of CPP curves, and in some cases, they can be minimized or eliminated by removing oxidants from the test solution. Keywords: Pitting, Localized Corrosion, Cyclic Potentiodynamic Polarization, Stainless Steels, Nickel-Base Alloys, Copper Base Alloys, Carbon Steels