This paper presents a study of the effects of proton irradiation on iron
corrosion. Since it is known that in humid atmospheres, iron corrosion is
enhanced by the double influence of air and humidity, we studied the iron
corrosion under irradiation with a 45% relative humidity. Three proton beam
intensities (5, 10 and 20 nA) were used. To characterise the corrosion layer,
we used ion beam methods (Rutherford Backscattering Spectrometry (RBS), Elastic
Recoil Detection Analysis (ERDA)) and X-ray Diffraction (XRD) analysis. The
corrosion kinetics are plotted for each proton flux. A diffusion model of the
oxidant species is proposed, taking into account the fact that the flux through
the surface is dependent on the kinetic factor K. This model provides evidence
for the dependence of the diffusion coefficient, D, and the kinetic factor, K,
on the proton beam intensity. Comparison of the values for D with the diffusion
coefficients for thermal oxygen diffusion in iron at 300 K suggests an
enhancement due to irradiation of 6 orders of magnitude