Electrolytic corrosion protection

Electrolytic corrosion occurs in regions I and IV with the formation of soluble iron ions. Solid corrosion products which can have a protective effect are formed in region II. This is the region of surface film passivity. Certain corrosive sub-... 

Cement coatings are usually applied as linings for water pipes and water tanks, but occasionally also for external protection of pipelines [7]. Cement is not impervious to water, so electrochemical reactions can take place on the surface of the object to be protected. Because of the similar processes occurring at the interface of cement and object and reinforcing steel and concrete, data on the system iron/ cement mortar are dealt with in this chapter taking into account the action of electrolytes with and without electrochemical polarization. To ensure corrosion protection, certain requirements must be met (see Section 5.3 and Chapter 19). 

In this chapter some important equations for corrosion protection are derived which are relevant to the stationary electric fields present in electrolytically conducting media such as soil or aqueous solutions. Detailed mathematical derivations can be found in the technical literature on problems of grounding [1-5]. The equations are also applicable to low frequencies in limited areas, provided no noticeable current displacement is caused by the electromagnetic field. 

Cable sheaths may be covered with paper and hessian wrappings impregnated with bituminous compounds or with extruded or taped plastics outer sheaths. At pinholes or discontinuities in protective coatings the sheath will be particularly liable to electrolytic corrosion in stray-current areas, and it is desirable to supplement this form of protection by drainage bonds or direct cathodic protection. 

Claims are sometimes made that the use of cathodic protection devices eliminates the need for any type of water treatment chemical, including oxygen scavengers (on the basis that oxygen in the FW increases the rate of zinc anode corrosion, producing both zinc ions and hydroxide ions and resulting in the removal of 02 from the BW electrolyte). Such claims that corrosion protection devices provide a complete program are spurious. 

Too much enphasis has be given to adhesion under dry conditions. However, corrosion is only possible if enough water is present in the ooating/metal interface to provide the electrolyte for the corrosion elements to operate. This condition is hardly imaginable without a previous significant reduction or even the loss of adhesion. Therefore "wet adhesion" is considered to be of crucial inportance to corrosion protection by organic coatings (9). 

Electrochemical Testing. Potentlodynamlc polarization measurements provided a sensitive means of evaluating the inhibitors with respect to environmental (Cl ) corrosion protection. The results obtained from anodlcally polarizing polished 7075-T6 A1 samples are presented in Fig. 9. For the control electrolyte (O.IN Na2S0, 0.002N KCl, no inhibitor), pitting was observed almost immediately on the surface, and the aluminum showed no evidence of passivation. The addition of NTMP to the solution did not appear to protect the metal... 

The structure-to-electrolyte potential of corrosion protection systems used to protect aboveground tank bottoms and connecting underground pipes must be inspected annually. 

Ionically conducting polymers and their relevance to lithium batteries were mentioned in a previous section. However, there are several developments which contain both ionically conducting materials and other supporting agents which improve both the bulk conductivity of these materials and the properties of the anode (Li)/electrolyte interface in terms of resistivity, passivity, reversibility, and corrosion protection. A typical example is a composite electrolyte system comprised of polyethylene oxide, lithium salt, and A1203 particles dispersed in the polymeric matrices, as demonstrated by Peled et al. [182], By adding alumina particles, a new conduction mechanism is available, which involved surface conductivity of ions on and among the particles. This enhances considerably the overall conductivity of the composite electrolyte system. There are also a number of other reports that demonstrate the potential of these solid electrolyte systems [183],... 

Sacrificial anode — is a piece of metal used as an anode in electrochemical processes where it is intended to be dissolved during the process. In -+ corrosion protection it is a piece of a non-noble metal or metal alloy (e.g., magnesium, aluminum, zinc) attached to the metal to be protected. Because of their relative -+ electrode potentials the latter is established as the -+ cathode und thus immune to corrosion. In -+ electroplating the metal used as anode may serve as a source for replenishing the electrolyte which is consumed by cathodic deposition. The sodium-lead alloy anode used in the electrochemical production of tetraethyl lead may also be considered as a sacrificial anode. 

The electrolytic deposition of a coating that is known as E-coat provides an excellent corrosion protection as evidenced by automotive coating. Today nearly all automobiles are corrosion protected by applying the cathodic E-coat, in which the steel body of a car is used as the cathode of the electrolytic deposition of a primer coat, on the surface of zinc phosphated steel. It is quite logical to consider that if an E-coat is applied to a chromate conversion-coated aluminum alloy surface, a significant improvement of the corrosion protection of aluminum alloys could be realized because such an attempt represents the combination of the two best components, i.e., chromate conversion coating and E-coat. We could find the best example that demonstrates the need of SAIE in such attempts. 

Using the aluminum sheet substrate as the cathode of a direct current (DQ glow discharge, cathodic plasma polymerization is carried out. Dealing with metal surfaces, cathodic plasma polymerization is the most practical means to provide the best corrosion protection (see Chapter 13). A primer is applied on the surface of the plasma polymer. The thickness of the plasma polymer is roughly 50 nm on average and that of the primer layer is about 30,000 nm (30 pm). Primers used included E-coat (electrolytic deposition of paint) and spray primers, but no top coat was applied in the study of corrosion protection. 

The aluminizing process is a clean operation and the final products (Fig. 23), i. e., aluminum-coated metals, pose no environmental threat. We know today that aluminum can to a large extent replace cadmium as a corrosion-protective coating for work pieces [176]. Since cadmium is applied extensively in automobiles, aviation, on- and offshore industries, aluminum coating, i.e. both the aluminum electroplating process and the resulting coated pieces play an important role in environmental protection. The properties of the electrolytically produced aluminum layers on work pieces for aviation and space technology have been tested [183]. 

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