Galvanic effect

Test Specimens In carrying out plant tests it is necessary to install the test specimens so that they wih not come into contact with other metals and alloys this avoids having their normal behavior disturbed by galvanic effects. It is also desirable to protect the specimens from possible mechanical damage. 

Copper alloys often show only weak crevice corrosion. This is especially the case if the copper alloy is coupled to a less noble alloy such as steel. The corrosion of the steel is stimulated by the galvanic effect caused by the coupling of dissimilar metals. Hence, the sacrificial corrosion of the steel protects the copper alloy (Fig. 2.9). See Chap. 16, Galvanic Corrosion. ... 

Wastage was caused by crevice corrosion, accelerated by the difference in tube and tube sheet metallurgies. The brass tube, being more noble, was cathodically protected by corrosion of the surrounding mild steel tube sheet. However, the galvanic effect was secondary to the primary cause of failure, namely, crevice corrosion. 

A The galvanic effect will be slight with the direction uncertain. 

Copper is a galvanic metal and causes corrosion, in the presence of moisture, in nearby metals, such as cable sheathes, steel structure and water, gas or drain pipes, buried in its vicinity. With all such metafs. it forms a complete electrolytic circuit and corrodes them. Tinning may give protection against its galvanic effects but this is ati expensive proposition... 

Data relating to the galvanic effects of graphite contained in composite materials exposed to sodium chloride solution are to be found in References " . 

Two dissimilar metals, such as iron and aluminium, may cause aggravated corrosion effects even if they are not in electrical contact. This subject is, however, outside the scope of this section, and has been treated in detail elsewhere. Heavy metal ions, such as copper ions, are particularly liable to produce galvanic effects by redeposition on a less noble metal the phenomenon is discussed in Sections 4.1, 4.2 and 9.3. 

Serious pitting may occur in the area of welds, particularly in sea-water. Corrosion rates of up to lOmm/y have been reported in weld joints of ice-breakers. The severe corrosion has been attributed to galvanic effects between the weld metal and the steel plate. The use of more noble electrodes for welding are reported to overcome this problem . 

The corrosivity of a salt solution depends upon the nature of the ions present in the solution. Those salts which give an alkaline reaction will retard the corrosion of the iron as compared with the action of pure water, and those which give a neutral reaction will not normally accelerate the corrosion rate appreciably except in so far as the increased conductivity of the solution in comparison with water permits galvanic effects to assume greater importance. Chlorides are dangerous because of the ability of the anions to penetrate otherwise impervious barriers of corrosion products. 

Most of the controlled corrosion studies on beryllium have been carried out in the USA in simulated reactor coolants. The latter have usually been water, aerated and de-aerated, containing small amounts of hydrogen peroxide and at temperatures up to 300-350°C. Many variables have been examined, covering surface condition, chemical composition, temperature, pH, galvanic effects and mechanical stress . 

Galvanic effects If niobium is cathodic in a galvanic couple the results can prove disastrous because of hydrogen embrittlement. If niobium is the anode in such a couple it anodises so readily that no damage occurs and the galvanic current drops to a very low value due to the formation of an anodic oxide film. 

Titanium in contact with other metals In most environments the potentials of passive titanium. Monel and stainless steel, are similar, so that galvanic effects are not likely to occur when these metals are connected. On the other hand, titanium usually functions as an efficient cathode, and thus while contact with dissimilar metals is not likely to lead to any significant attack upon titanium, there may well be adverse galvanic effects upon the other metal. The extent and degree of such galvanic attack will depend upon the relative areas of the titanium and the other metal where the area of the second metal is small in relation to that of titanium severe corrosion of the former will occur, while less corrosion will be evident where the proportions are reversedMetals such as stainless steel, which, like titanium, polarise easily, are much less affected in these circumstances than copper-base alloys and mild steel. 

Consideration will also be given to attack arising from contact with solids such as refractories, and with molten materials such as salts, glasses, and lower-melting-point metals and alloys. On a fundamental basis, the distinction between some of these latter reactions and normal-temperature aqueous corrosion is not always clear, since galvanic effects may be of significance in both cases, but for practical purposes a distinction can be made on the basis of the temperature involved. 

Higher current densities will be required if galvanic effects (i.e. dissimilar metals in contact) are present. 

Current density requirements depend on the environment, galvanic effects, velocities and other factors influencing polarisation. In the absence of galvanic influences or other secondary effects 30mA/m may be sufficient in sea-water to maintain adequate polarisation for protection once it has been achieved it is however normally necessary to apply 100-150 mA/m to achieve initial polarisation within a reasonable period and if rapid protection is required, current densities as high as 500 mA/m may be applied. 

The relationships given in Table 13.1 apply to the specific environment quoted and it must always be remembered that if the conditions are varied, even to only a small extent, different galvanic effects may be produced. 

The extent of galvanic effects will be influenced by, in addition to the usual factors that affect corrosion of a single metal, the potential relationships of the metals involved, their polarisation characteristics, the relative areas of anode and cathode, and the internal and external resistances in the galvanic circuit (see Section 1.7). 

The simplest procedure in studying galvanic corrosion is a measurement of the open-circuit potential difference between the metals in a couple in the environment under consideration. This will at least indicate the probable direction of any galvanic effect although no information is provided on the rate. A better procedure is to make similar open-circuit potential measurements between the individual metals and some appropriate reference electrode, which will yield the same information and will also permit obser-... 

It is often desirable to know something about the probable distribution of galvanic effects in a galvanic couple. This will be determined, of course. 

Corrosion by liquid metals is usually controlled by diffusion processes in the solid and liquid phases and, unlike aqueous corrosion, does not generally involve galvanic effects, and, even where electrochemical phenomena are known to occur, it has not, in general, been demonstrated that they have been responsible for a significant portion of the corrosion observed . In... 

An idea of the.diktributibh bf galvanic corrosion in the atmosphere is prp vided by the location of the corrosion of magnesium exposed in intimate contact with steel in the assembly shown in Fig. 19.28 after exposure in the salt atmosphere 25 m from the ocean at Kure Beach, North Carolina, for 9 years. Except where ledges or crevices may serve to trap unusual amounts of electrolyte, it may be assumed that, even with the most incompatible metals, simple galvanic effects will not extend more than about 4-5 mm from the line of contact of the metals in the couple. 

Fig. 19.28 Distribution of galvanic effects around contact of a magnesium casting and a steel...

The extent of galvanic action in atmospheric exposure may also be restricted by the development of corrosion products of high electrical resistance between the contacting surfaces — this is especially likely to occur if one of the metals in the couple is an iron or steel that will rust. In long-time tests such possible interruptions in the galvanic circuit should be checked by resistance measurements from time to time so as to determine the actual periods in which galvanic effects could operate. 

A fairly direct way of observing galvanic effects, which also permits changes in mechanical properties to be measured, involves the preparation of a composite specimen formed by attaching a strip, or strips, of one metal to a panel of another one. Tensile test specimens that include the areas of galvanic action can be cut from these panels after exposure, as shown in Fig. 19.30. 

Where the practical interest is in possible galvanic effects of fastenings, it is simple to make up specimens to include such couple assemblies as illustrated in Fig. 19.31. 

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