This article examines the characteristics and behavior of scale produced by various types of oxidation. The basic models, concepts, processes, and open questions for high-temperature gaseous corrosion are presented. The article describes the development of geometrically induced growth stresses, transformation stresses, and thermal stresses in oxide scales. It discusses the ways in which stresses can be relieved. The article provides information on catastrophic oxidation, internal oxidation, sulfidation, alloy oxidation, selective oxidation, and concurrent oxidation. It illustrates the relationships between scale morphologies on binary alloys and concludes with a discussion on metal dusting and chlorine corrosion.

This article provides an introduction to the fundamentals of corrosion in gases. It tabulates the structures and properties of oxides as well as the physical properties of pure metals.

This article describes the Schottky defect and the Frenkel defect in oxides. It provides information on the p-type metal-deficit oxides and n-type semiconductor oxides. The article discusses diffusion mechanisms and laws of diffusion proposed by Fick. It explains the oxide texture of amorphous and epitaxy oxide layers and presents equations for various oxidation reaction rates. The article reviews different theories to describe the oxidation mechanism. These include the Cabrera-Mott, Hauffe-IIschner, Grimley-Trapnell, Uhlig, and Wagner theories.