When attempting to analyze the effects of corrosion fatigue on crack growth in a particular environment, both corrosion type and fatigue load levels affect crack growth in varying degrees. Common types of corrosion include filiform, pitting, exfoliation, intergranular; each will affect crack growth in a particular material in a distinct way. For instance, pitting will often be the most damaging type of corrosion, degrading a material's performance (by increasing the crack-growth rate) more than any other kind of corrosion; even pits of the order of a material's grain size may substantially degrade a material. The degree to which corrosion affects crack-growth rates also depends on fatigue-load levels; for instance, corrosion can cause a greater increase in crack-growth rates at a low loads than it does at a high load.Craig L. Brooks, Scott A. Prost-Domasky, Kyle T. Honeycutt and Thomas B. Mills, "Predictive modeling of structure service life" in ASM Handbook Volume 13A, Corrosion: Fundamental, Testing and Protection, October 2003, 946-958.
