Galvanic corrosion critical factors

Critical factors. Two factors are critical in galvanic corrosion of weld metal. The first is the existence of sufficient compositional differences... 

Elimination. Recall that the critical factors governing galvanic corrosion of welds are the presence of substantial compositional differences within the weld metal and the exposure of such a weld to a sufficiently aggressive environment. If the aggressiveness of the environment cannot be sufficiently reduced, significant compositional differences within the weld metal must be avoided. This requires following proper... 

Galvanic corrosion is location specific in the sense that it occurs at a bimetallic couple (Fig. 16.2). It is metal specific in the sense that, typically, corrosion affects the metal that has less resistance in the environment to which the couple is exposed. Hence, in principle, we would anticipate galvanic corrosion of relatively reactive metals wherever they are in physical contact with relatively noble metals in a sufficiently aggressive, common environment. Experience has shown, however, that all such couples do not necessarily result in unsatisfactory service. This is because of the interplay of various critical factors that influence galvanic corrosion. These critical factors are discussed in the next section. 

The relative humidity of an environment is a significant factor in corrosion of metals under atmospheric conditions. A thin layer film is formed on metals at a critical value of relative humidity depending on the nature of the metal being corroded. Dehri and Erbil [49] studied the effect of relative humidity on the atmospheric corrosion of defective polyester-coated galvanized mild steel using impedance spectroscopy. The measurements were taken at relative humidity values between 70% and 100%. The relative humidity of the atmosphere increases the corrosion rate of the underlying metal. Figure 10.11 shows the equivalent resistance circuit used to evaluate the corrosion parameters [49]. 

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