Abstract
Over the past several years, a new corrosion control technology has been developed for protecting damaged, painted surfaces in contact with ambient atmospheres. The method makes use of electromagnetically-induced surface currents and, to date, the efficacy of the method has been demonstrated with painted, galvanized steel. While the exact mechanism of protection has yet to be thoroughly defined, the technique appears to work by the induced current inhibiting passivation of the zinc and hence maintaining the zinc in the active state. Accordingly, the active zinc is more effective in protecting the underlying steel, compared with passivated zinc in the absence of the electromagnetically-induced current. Thus, the technique is not a classical, impressed current cathodic protection system and no electrolyte is needed between an anode (which does not exist, anyway) and the damaged area. Experiments have demonstrated that the induced current is spread uniformly across the surfaces of complex shapes, so that induction at a single point is effective in protecting the whole body, that the power consumption is very low, and possibly that the induced signal can be tailored to optimize the efficacy. To our knowledge, EICCT is a new, radically different corrosion control technology that may find extensive application in protecting metallic structures.
Published Version
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