An Investigation of Galvanic Corrosion of Metals in a Seawater Environment

Corrosion is an ever-present problem in all different environments and particularly in marine applications. A simple model of coplanar electrodes will be used when simulating the effects of temperature and salinity on galvanic corrosion of metals in seawater. This investigation will look at both Nickel-Copper Alloy 400 (Monel) and a Nickel-Chromium-Molybdenum Alloy (Inconel 625) when paired with HY-80 steel. COMSOL Multiphysics will be used to solve Laplace’s equation for the electropotential distribution within the electrolyte (seawater) under different environmental conditions including electrolyte layer depth and salinity. The simulation results will be used to characterize the amount of corrosion that can be expected for the scenarios analyzed. Introduction/Background Corrosion is known as the breakdown of materials, namely metals, through some chemical reaction within their environment. Corrosion is a consideration in virtually all manufacturing applications. Each year, industries invest time and money into trying to curtail the effects of corrosion. Many different corrosion environments have been studied and monitored to develop corrosion impedance methods. There are different types of corrosion, including galvanic corrosion. Galvanic corrosion is an electrochemical process that occurs when two dissimilar metals are in electrical contact with one another, and are in a conducting environment known as an electrolyte. Galvanic corrosion is particularly prevalent in marine applications because seawater acts as a naturally free flowing electrolyte.