1. Overview of the phenomenon

1.1 Dry corrosion, aqueous corrosion

Like all forms of corrosion, dry corrosion manifests itself as the degradation of materials created by human activity, causing them to revert to a chemically more stable state. This degradation occurs in the absence of a liquid phase acting as an electrolyte. The absence of an electrolyte and the relative slowness of the resulting processes require high temperatures for this type of corrosion to be active. It is therefore often referred to as “high-temperature corrosion,” “thermal oxidation,” or “corrosion by hot gases” (in French only).

A fundamental difference arising from the absence of a liquid phase in dry corrosion lies in the relative importance of immunity and passivation. In an aqueous environment, the absence...