SCALE CRYSTAL DISTORTION

Scale crystal distortion is a mechanism whereby the solubility of the growing crystal is increased by altering its growth structure.

The inclusion of a relatively large irregularly-shaped polymer in the scale lattice tends to prevent the deposition of a dense uniformly-structured crystalline mass on the metal surface.

In theory, these crystals can develop internal stresses which increase as the crystal grows, with the result that the deposit breaks away from the metal surface.

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