Can corrosion testing make the transition from comparison to prediction?

Corrosion testing has evolved to the point where it is possible to compare the relative corrosion resistance of two or more materials in a small number of experiments of relatively short duration. However, this comparison is only valid for the environments used for the experiments, and these experiments are frequently considered poor indicators of actual in-service behavior. This paper examines the emerging need for better prediction of performance in corrosive environments, the form that a prediction should take, and some of the tools being developed and explored for meeting this need.