Study on the Corrosion Characteristics of Grounding Materials in Acid Red Soil

The corrosion of grounding materials seriously threatens the safe operation of the power system. The corrosion resistance of four typical grounding materials as carbon steel, galvanized steel, Zn–Al-coated steel, copper was studied in acid red soil. The results show that carbon steel, galvanized steel, Zn–Al-coated steel, copper exhibit different corrosion resistance behaviors, respectively. The corrosion rate of these grounding materials usually increases first and then slowly decreases. Pitting corrosion is the main corrosion feature of carbon steel. The corrosion rate of carbon steel is the largest compared to the other three grounding materials. The corrosion rate of galvanized steel is higher than that of copper. Copper has a low corrosion rate and exhibits good corrosion resistance, but the cost of copper is high and it causes heavy metal pollution. The corrosion rate of Zn–Al-coated steel is the lowest compared to the other three grounding materials, and it has the best corrosion resistance.