On Potentials of Ferrous Electrodes in Soil Corrosion Cells

Abstract

Open circuit potentials of electrodes and short circuit of soil corrosion cells constituted by cast iron, mild steel and wrought iron electrodes in the typical Indian soils have been determined and the voltages and the internal resistances of the cells have been calculated. The electrode potentials do not have a simple correlation with any of the soil properties. In non-acidic soils, the cell voltage at first increases abruptly with moisture equivalent, reaches maximum at about 15 and then decreases gradually. Based on this an interpretation has been offered for the maximum corrosivity of soils, having moisture equivalent, 30, as observed for mild steel and wrought iron. In an acidic soil electrode potentials of all the ferrous metals are indentical and cell voltages, very small. Hence most of the corrosion proceeds through direct chemical reaction. Cast iron is slightly less corrodible than mild steel and wrought iron because of additional protective influence of liberated carbon deposited over the metal.