The effect of multielectrode galvanic corrosion behavior and area ratio on 6061 aluminum alloy, Q235 stainless steel, and carbon fiber composites

Abstract In this work, electrochemical experiments and numerical simulation methods are employed to study the multielectrode galvanic corrosion behavior of 6061‐Q235‐CFRP, and discuss the influence of the cathode and anode area ratio on the multielectrode galvanic corrosion behavior. The results show that in the 6061‐Q235‐CFRP multielectrode corrosion system, 6061 aluminum alloy is the only anode, and Q235 as well as CFRP are both cathodes. In a multielectrode galvanic system of 6061‐Q235‐CFRP, the current density of 6061 is slightly smaller than the sum of the current densities of 6061 in two galvanic systems of 6061‐Q235 as well as 6061‐CFRP. Moreover, the potential of the galvanic system shifts negatively and the current density decreases gradually with the increasing area of 6061, which has a logarithmic relationship with the area of the cathode and anode. While the current density increases with the increasing area of Q235 or CFRP.