Kong, X.F.; Lv, J.; Gao, N.; Peng, X., and Zhang, J., 2018. An experimental study of galvanic corrosion on an underwater weld joint. In: Wang, D. and Guido-Aldana, P.A. (eds.), Select Proceedings from the 3rd International Conference on Water Resource and Environment (WRE2017). Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 84, pp. 63–68. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208.

This study aimed to explore the galvanic corrosion behavior of an underwater weld joint using the polarization curve, galvanic current test, and microcurrent distribution test. The results revealed that galvanic corrosion evidently occurred in the area of the underwater weld joint, accelerating the corrosion process. The weld metal acted as the cathode, whereas the base metal (BM) and heat-affected zone (HAZ) acted as anodes. The maximum value of the cathode current in the weld region reached 3.5 μA. Corrosion current density was mainly decided by the diffusion process of dissolved oxygen (DO) in the seawater. As the immersion time increased, the oxygen diffusion process was hindered by the biofilm and sedimentary cover on the surface of the weld region, whereas the oxygen reduction reaction was suppressed. Therefore, the galvanic corrosion between the weld region and BM was further weakened.