1 On the metastable pitting of aluminium alloys Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy of the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, India and Monash University, Australia By Gayathri Sridhar Supervisors: Prof V. S. Raja (IIT Bombay) Prof Nick Birbilis (Monash University) The course of study for this award was developed jointly by the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay and Monash University, Australia and given academic recognition by each of them. The programme was administered by the IITB-Monash Research Academy (April 2021)