Corrosion is defined as the process of gradual destruction of any materials, mostly on the surface at initial stages but can be in its entirety as the impact of destruction worsens. Materials that can be subjected to corrosion are usually metals but nonmetals can also be affected. In normal vocabulary, corrosion in nonmetals is referred to as degradation.
Corrosion is an electrochemical process where one metal or more can be subject to wear and tear including eventual destruction owing to a plethora of factors. Corrosion can be of different types and the most common ones are galvanic corrosion, pitting corrosion, weld decay and knife-line attack, crevice corrosion, microbial corrosion, metal dusting and high temperature corrosion among others. A huge number of external and application factors lead to corrosion in metals and depending on how the metals are used, protected and maintained corrosion levels and its impacts would vary from mild, severe to catastrophic.
Galvanic corrosion is an extremely common form and it impacts several industries including petroleum, automobile, energy such as batteries, manufacturing, engineering and also plumbing. Galvanic corrosion is also an electrochemical process similar to corrosion in general but is only triggered when two metals share the same electrical medium. When metals are in contact through this electrical medium that is a result of the metals being submerged or immersed in an electrolyte, there are two distinct electrodes that are formed. One metallic electrode would be the positive anode and the other would be the negative cathode. One of the two metals would become subject to corrosion owing to the preferential disintegration that occurs in the electrolyte. It is typically the metal at the anode that corrodes and that too much quicker than it would normally be subject to.
Galvanic corrosion can turn out to be a hassle for many industries. It steadily degrades the quality of the electrolyte and affects the performance of the whole set up. Not only are their formations of salts, acids and bases but the deposits on the cathode and the corrosion of the anode can significantly jeopardize the entire operation of the system. There are various methods to prevent corrosion, or galvanic corrosion to be precise, and today there are various types of machines, liquid products and also coatings available which can completely prevent corrosion or minimize the impacts to negligible levels.