Cathodic protection of ships

It is little known that Thomas Alva Edison tried to achieve cathodic protection of ships with impressed current in 1890 however, the sources of current and anodic materials available to him were inadequate. In 1902, K. Cohen achieved practical cathodic protection using impressed direct current. The manager of urban works at... 

F. Jensen, Cathodic protection of ships, Proc. 7th Scand. Corr. Congr., Trondheim, 1975. 

In seawater, lead anodes with 1 or 2% silver may be used for cathodic protection of ships " at current densities of up to 120Am Lead with 6Vo antimony and 1 Vo silver has also been recommended. It is thought that silver might provide small stable nucleation sites for PbOj formation " in a manner similar to the Pb/Pt bi-electrode " (see Section 11.3), which is serviceable at 250 A m . A lead. Wo Ag, 0.5% Bi or 0.5% Te alloy with a platinum micro-electrode will perform well at 500 A m. ... 

Barnard, K. N., Christie, G. L. and Gage, D. G. Service Experience with Lead Silver Alloy Anodes in Cathodic Protection of Ships , Corrosion, 15, 11, 581-586 (1959) Peplow, D. B. and Shreir, L. L. Lead/Platinum Electrodes for Marine Applications , Corr. Tech. Apr. (1984)... 

This material can be used only in seawater or similar chloride-containing electrolytes. This is because the passivation of the silver at discontinuities in the platinum is dependent upon the formation of a film of silver chloride, the low solubility of which, in seawater, inhibits corrosion of the silver. This anode, consisting of Pt-lOPd on Ag, was tried as a substitute for rapidly consumed aluminium, for use as a trailing wire anode for the cathodic protection of ships hulls, and has been operated at current densities as high as 1 900 AmHowever, the use of trailing anodes has been found inconvenient with regard to ships manoeuvrability. 

Ship hulls Painting cannot always protect hostile marine conditions, in ships and, areas above keel blocks. Stem and mdder areas suffer erosion and corrosion due to the high turbulence caused by the propeller coupled with the galvanic effects of the noble bronze propeller. Effective cathodic protection of ship hulls and similar marine structures in seawater against corrosion can be apphed using either aluminum or zinc alloy sacrificial anodes. Twenty percent of the anodes required for full hull protection are required for stern protection only. 

Gliszewski, L. (1971). Aspekty ekonimiczne ochrony katodowej kadlubow statkow krajowej tloty transportowej (Economic aspects of the cathodic protection of ships hulls in the Polish mercantile fleet). Ochr. Przed. Koroz., 14(5), 15-19 (in Polish). 

Seo, M. (1956). Cathodic protection of ship hulls. Report I. Results obtained with zinc anodes. Corros. Eng., 5, 254-258. 

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