New multiple specimen potentiostatic system

Abstract

Abstract A new potentiostatic system has been designed which is capable of controlling and monitoring for large periods of time a large number of specimen electrodes at many different set potentials, all within a single test tank or process stream. The advantages of the new system are illustrated by comparing block diagrams of a version which contains two potentiostats with those of the system which would have to be used to achieve the same results with the standard potentiostat configuration. In order to assess the performance of the new system, a prototype was built with two potentiostats that were independent except for their sharing of a common auxiliary electrode within a single test cell. An experiment was conducted in which one working electrode made from AISI430 stainless steel was subjected to the potentiostatic anodic polarisation scan outlined in ASTM G5–82 while the other identical working electrode was held at a constant potential that was 200 mV more negative than its corrosion potential. Th...