You are here

FAU Collections » FAU Research Repository » FAU Theses and Dissertations

Cathodic polarization behavior of mild steel exposed to selected flow velocities and slope parameters in natural seawater

Download pdf | Full Screen View

Date Issued:
1997
Summary:
Twenty-four test cells arranged in a pipe flow setup were assembled to investigate the effect of seawater velocity on the polarization behavior of galvanically polarized mild steel. Each 1023 steel pipe specimen of 10.8 em ID was coupled via a current limiting resistor to a mercury activated aluminum anode and exposed to a velocity of either 0.03, 0.09 or 0.30 m/s. The resistors were sized such that polarization was controlled according to one of six slope parameters. Steady state potential and maintenance current density values were determined, and a steady state potential vs. current density curve was established for specimens in each velocity. Some specimens experienced a rise in cathode potential and current density after an apparent steady state had been reached. This was probably related to the influence of velocity on the protectiveness of the calcareous deposit. Of the specimens that experienced a rise in steady state potential and current density, a few were later observed to decrease in potential and current density and reach steady state. Steady state current density vs. velocity plots of specimens at steady state potentials of -0.78, -0.88 and -0.98 V showed that current density was directly proportional to velocity as well as relatively insensitive to potential. Ficks' first law was utilized in conjunction with an empirically derived dimensionless correlation that characterizes the behavior between fluid velocity and mass transfer of molecular species from the bulk solution to the cathode surface in turbulent seawater pipe flow. Calcareous deposit porosity constants were calculated and it was surmised that as velocity increased by a factor of three, the porosity of the deposits near 0.78 and -0.89 V increased by multiples of about two on average. Porosity at the above potentials increased with decreasing potential by a factor of a little over two. SEM micrographs were made and EDX analyses were performed on the calcareous deposits of selected specimens.
Title: Cathodic polarization behavior of mild steel exposed to selected flow velocities and slope parameters in natural seawater.
102 views
45 downloads
Name(s): Hugus, G. Dickson, IV.
Florida Atlantic University, Degree grantor
Hartt, William H., Thesis advisor
Type of Resource: text
Genre: Electronic Thesis Or Dissertation
Issuance: monographic
Date Issued: 1997
Publisher: Florida Atlantic University
Place of Publication: Boca Raton, Fla.
Physical Form: application/pdf
Extent: 94 p.
Language(s): English
Summary: Twenty-four test cells arranged in a pipe flow setup were assembled to investigate the effect of seawater velocity on the polarization behavior of galvanically polarized mild steel. Each 1023 steel pipe specimen of 10.8 em ID was coupled via a current limiting resistor to a mercury activated aluminum anode and exposed to a velocity of either 0.03, 0.09 or 0.30 m/s. The resistors were sized such that polarization was controlled according to one of six slope parameters. Steady state potential and maintenance current density values were determined, and a steady state potential vs. current density curve was established for specimens in each velocity. Some specimens experienced a rise in cathode potential and current density after an apparent steady state had been reached. This was probably related to the influence of velocity on the protectiveness of the calcareous deposit. Of the specimens that experienced a rise in steady state potential and current density, a few were later observed to decrease in potential and current density and reach steady state. Steady state current density vs. velocity plots of specimens at steady state potentials of -0.78, -0.88 and -0.98 V showed that current density was directly proportional to velocity as well as relatively insensitive to potential. Ficks' first law was utilized in conjunction with an empirically derived dimensionless correlation that characterizes the behavior between fluid velocity and mass transfer of molecular species from the bulk solution to the cathode surface in turbulent seawater pipe flow. Calcareous deposit porosity constants were calculated and it was surmised that as velocity increased by a factor of three, the porosity of the deposits near 0.78 and -0.89 V increased by multiples of about two on average. Porosity at the above potentials increased with decreasing potential by a factor of a little over two. SEM micrographs were made and EDX analyses were performed on the calcareous deposits of selected specimens.
Identifier: 9780591625028 (isbn), 15501 (digitool), FADT15501 (IID), fau:12265 (fedora)
Collection: FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection
Note(s): College of Engineering and Computer Science
Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 1997.
Subject(s): Cathodic protection
Seawater corrosion
Marine steel
Held by: Florida Atlantic University Libraries
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/15501
Sublocation: Digital Library
Use and Reproduction: Copyright © is held by the author, with permission granted to Florida Atlantic University to digitize, archive and distribute this item for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires permission of the copyright holder.
Use and Reproduction: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Host Institution: FAU
Is Part of Series: Florida Atlantic University Digital Library Collections.