An application of queuing theory to the dynamics of anodic dissolution

Queuing theory is applied to oscillatory phenomena encountered during anodic dissolution, with numerical illustration provided by a laboratory-scale copper dissolution process. The theory interprets oscillation as a two-phase process, where the first phase consists of ion arrival to the electrode and subsequent steps to form a solid deposit on it, and the second phase consists of the deposition process itself followed by partial dissolution of the deposit. The two phases correspond to the process of client-arrival and client-servicing in queuing theory. In particular, the M/M/1, the G/M/1 and the M/M/k queuing models are quantitatively compared in terms of queuing time and certain other queuing characteristics.