Validated numerical modelling of galvanic corrosion for couples: Magnesium alloy (AE44)–mild steel and AE44–aluminium alloy (AA6063) in brine solution

A numerical model is presented in this work that predicts the corrosion rate of a galvanic couple. The model is capable of tracking moving boundary of the corroding constituent of the couple. The corrosion rates obtained from the model are compared with those estimated from mixed potential theory and two experimental techniques, namely Scanning Vibrating Electrode Technique (SVET) and immersion technique. The corrosion rates predicted using the model are in good agreement with those estimated from the experimental techniques for magnesium alloy AE44–mild steel couple, however, the model under predicts the corrosion rate for AE44–aluminium alloy AA6063 couple.

Research highlights► Numerical model for galvanic corrosion is developed in this work ► The model can explicitly track of the moving boundary and can handle non-linear polarization data ► The galvanic corrosion rate of the two couples: magnesium alloy (AE44)–mild steel and AE44–aluminium alloy (AA6063) is quantified in this work ► The numerical estimates of the corrosion rate for the above two couples are in good agreement with those obtained from the SVET and the immersion experiments.