The galvanic corrosion behavior of three metal alloys commonly used in water desalination plants was investigated using coupled multielectrode arrays consisting of aluminum-brass (HAl77-2), titanium alloy (TA2), and 316L stainless steel (316L SS). The three electrode types were coupled galvanically and arranged in different geometric configurations. Their corrosion behavior was characterized as a function of the chloride concentration. The potential and current distributions of the three-electrode coupling systems display electrochemical inhomogeneity. Generally, the aluminum-brass wires are anodic versus the titanium alloy and stainless steel. The titanium alloy acts as a primary cathode, and the 316L SS acts as a secondary cathode. The corrosion rate of aluminum-brass depends on the concentration of chloride ion, with a maximum corrosion rate at a chloride concentration of 2.3 wt %. In terms of geometrical arrangements, when the anodic HAl77-2 wires are located on the edge and are connected to the 316L SS wires in the coupling system, the main anodic area enlarges, especially in the area adjacent to the 316L SS wires. When the HAl77-2 wires are located between (in the middle of) the two other types of wires, the corrosion rates are higher than the corrosion rates observed from the other two geometrical arrangements.
Keywords: chloride ion; coupled multielectrode array; desalination; galvanic corrosion; heterogeneous electrochemistry.