Simulation Study of Galvanic Interaction in Alloy Metal Combinations in Acidic Environments

Abstract

Galvanic corrosion is a form of material degradation that occurs due to the electrochemical potential difference between two dissimilar metals in contact within an electrolytic environment. This study aims to simulate galvanic interactions between various alloy metal combinations under acidic conditions, with the objective of identifying the metal pairs most susceptible to corrosion and evaluating the resulting corrosion rates. The simulation was carried out using a numerical approach based on finite element method (FEM)-based software, which enables detailed visualization of galvanic current distribution and electrochemical potential mapping.
The simulation results indicate that metal combinations with greater electrochemical potential differences exhibit significantly higher corrosion rates, particularly affecting the metal acting as the anode. Furthermore, the acidity level (pH) of the environment was found to have a direct impact on the intensity of the corrosion process. This study provides a scientific foundation for safer material selection in structural design and mechanical systems operating in aggressive environments, and offers initial recommendations for mitigating galvanic corrosion.