Galvanic corrosion based on wire beam electrode technique: progress and prospects

Abstract Galvanic corrosion is a type of localized corrosion that widely exists in all kinds of metal structures and causes severe damage, jeopardising the safety and dependability of equipment. This paper reviews the mechanism of galvanic corrosion and related influencing factors, including the material characteristics and geometric factors of the metal pair and environmental factors. As a unique surface testing technique, wire beam electrode (WBE) is widely used in various corrosion research fields represented by galvanic corrosion. On this basis, the research progress of the WBE technique in the field of galvanic corrosion is mainly reviewed from three perspectives. The experiments also proved that the WBE technique can well characterize the corrosion evolution progression and investigate the polarity reversal mechanisms. Finally, it is pointed out that the urgent scientific problems to be solved in the research of galvanic corrosion include: galvanic corrosion research in a variety of special environments; the mechanism of the galvanic couple reversal caused by the change of corrosion factors; the corrosion behavior of a complex coupling system composed of multiple metal connections; the development of corrosion prediction models.