Investigation of electrolysis corrosion on marine propellers

Abstract

Marine propellers operate under severe service conditions and experience various corrosion forms. Electrochemical, mechanical, and biological corrosion are the three main common types of corrosion that occur on marine propellers. Electrolysis (electrolytic corrosion), being one of the electrochemical corrosion forms, has been extensively observed on marine propellers. It is the forced introduction of an external current in metals when submerged in seawater. However, it has rarely been studied for marine propellers, mostly on underground pipelines. This paper investigates the effect of electrolysis on a chromium-containing coating on copper substrate by studying the surface and cross-sectional microstructure of the substrate. It is likely that cathodic disbondment caused by high alkalinity and hydrogen evolution at the defect location were the primary reasons contributing to the failure of the coating, and the silver-colored layer deposition around the delaminated area is the corrosion product of copper–chromium oxide. The purpose of this study is to understand the electrolysis corrosion mechanism on Cu substrate and to develop a highly effective anticorrosion coating for marine propellers.