Galvanic corrosion mitigation

There are a number of ways that galvanic corrosion maybe prevented. These can be used singly or in combination. All of these preventive measures follow directly from the basic mechanism of galvanic 

Avoid the use of dissimilar metals wherever possible. If this is not practical, try to use metals which are close together in the galvanic series (Fig. 6.31 in Chap. 6). 

Avoid an unfavorable area ratio whenever possible, particularly in the presence of an electrolytically conductive environment. 

If dissimilar metals are used, insulate these electrically from one another. 

If it is necessary to use dissimilar metals, and these cannot be insulated, then the more anodic part should be designed for easy replacement or should be constructed of thick materials to longer absorb the effects of corrosion. 

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External corrosion of water systems may be caused by general corrosion, stray current corrosion MIC, and/or galvanic corrosion. Corrosion mitigation techniques include the application of protective coatings, wrapping pipe in a plastic cover, and the application of CP. The areas of major external corrosion impact are generally those where localized attack may take place, such as in the proximity of other systems like galvanic corrosion or in areas where stray currents may occur. 

Although iron pipes suffer from the same corrosion risk as steel pipelines, associated with the generation of a galvanic cell with a small anode and a large cathode, the risk is mitigated for iron pipelines because the electrical continuity is broken at every pipe joint. For this reason long-line currents are uncommon in iron lines and cathodic protection is rarely necessary. It also accounts for the ability to protect iron lines by the application of nonadherent polyethylene sleeving . 

Cathodic protection (CP) is an electrical method of mitigating corrosion on metallic structures that are exposed to electrolytes such as soils and waters. Corrosion control is achieved by forcing a defined quantity of direct current to flow from auxiliary anodes through the electrolyte and onto the metal structure to be protected. Theoretically, corrosion of the structure is completely eliminated when the open-circuit potentials of the cathodic sites are polarized to the open-circuit potentials of the anodic sites. The entire protected structure becomes cathodic relative to the auxiliary anodes. Therefore, corrosion of the metal structure will cease when the applied cathodic current equals the corrosion current. There are two basic methods of corrosion control by cathodic protection. One involves the use of current that is produced when two electrochemically dissimilar metals or alloys (Table 19.1) are metallically connected and exposed to the electrolyte. This is commonly referred to as a sacrificial or galvanic cathodic protection system. The other method of cathodic protection involves the use of a direct current power source and auxiliary anodes, which is commonly referred to as an impressed-current cathodic protection system. Then cathodic protection is a technique to reduce the corrosion rate of a metal surface by making it the cathode of an electrochemical cell [3]. 

The corrosion-like electrochemical process of material removal refers to spatially uniform general corrosion of the metal surface. However, the wet CMP environment can also support certain other types of undesirable electrochemical corrosions, such as localized pitting, and bimetallic/galvanic decomposition that contribute to surface defects. The considerations for mitigating these defects constitute a major aspect of slurry (additive) selection, which in turn can be facilitated by the use of electrochemical techniques. 

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