Stainless steel in contact with other

metals
Tuesday 15 August 2023
11:00am-12:00pm AEST
 Content

• A bit about ASSDA.

• The four steps in corrosion.
• The galvanic series and where the different stainless steels fit.
• The effect of wetted area ratios and indirect metallic connections.
• Atmospheric, marine, potable water and industrial environments.
• Insulation, isolation or material change – and what is possible.
• How far can galvanic effects travel down a pipe?
• The differences between stray current (electrolysis) and galvanic
corrosion.
• When dissimilar metal contact is useful.
• Standards/codes of practice including the complicated Mil Spec
889D-202x.
• Classic examples of good and bad galvanic couples.

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 ASSDA
ASSDA aims to increase the consumption and proper use of
stainless steel in Australia.

• Not-for-profit industry group with 169 member companies.

• Technical Hotline: http://www.assda.asn.au/technical-hotline
• Australian Stainless magazine, 2020 Reference Manual (book or
electronic), generic Stock Guide (revised August 2022).
• Accreditation scheme – look at www.assda.asn.au – getting what
you asked for delivered with expertise.
• Stainless Steel Specialist Course - 17 modules, home study,
web-based.
• Pacrim Conference on 18-19 October 2022 at QT Gold Coast.

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 Galvanised screw into steel (or SS)

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OR Zinc with substrate steel

BOTH anodic to stainless steel Cathodic SS

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 Can we avoid corrosion?

• Stop any one of 4 steps and corrosion stops

• Material change or environment change can control corrosion
• In submerged or buried environments, apply an external current
which MAY decrease corrosion:
– "cathodic protection" decreases attack
– but stray current (trains, earth leakage faults) increases
it.

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 Galvanic series

Type:
PRE
• These all in SCE reference
BUT can use Ag/AgCl or
Aus >23 (in papers) hydrogen
Aus >18 reference electrode.
Hi Ni >16
• Flowing seawater at
Ferritic >16 ~30oC.
Marten. >14 • Note the dual values for
stainless steels.
• All values ex. ASTM G82.

• See ASSDA FAQ #1 at

www.assda.asn.au.

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 Less cluttered galvanic series

Seawater at 10oC

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 Potential of super duplex in seawaters

Note effect on
potential of:
• Oxidisers, i.e.,
chlorine & oxygen,
Microbes.
• Temperature –
indirectly.

Francis & Byrne

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 Fresh water galvanic series:

Moderately hard water 25oC

Low galvanic
corrosion rate:
similar
potentials.

9 Mattson
 Fresh water galvanic series:
US tap water 25oC –
NOTE:‘S’ shape BUT potential graph reverse of ASTM G82

Couples in central
band: Low corrosion
rates of coupled alloys
– similar potential

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 Brass and copper with stainless in
potable water

Stadium in Detroit, US

Scottish hospital
Galvanically compatible but stainless
steel has much higher velocity limits
than copper: especially with hot
water

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 H2O and acidic galvanic series at 25oC
NOTE – reversed order of potentials from ASTM G82

HNO3 Conc. HCl reducing

Conc. HNO3 oxidising
3 waters neither

HCl

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 Real world galvanic series

Metal Potential (mV

Cu/CuSO4)

Carbon, graphite, +200 Most noble or cathodic,

coke least corrodible
Millscale on mild
steel
Stainless steel -200
The reason SS and carbon
Copper, brass, steel reinforcement can be
bronze connected inside concrete
Mild steel in
concrete
Rusty mild steel -300 to -600
Ductile iron -300 to -800 Galvanic reason why new steel
Uncorroded cast -500 corrodes rapidly when connected to
iron
rusty steel
Lead
Bright mild steel -600 to -800
Aluminium -800 to -1100
Zinc -1100 Most corrodible,
Magnesium -1600 most base or anodic

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 Stainless steel with copper or coated CS

Treated water and large

SS:anode area

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 Galvanic corrosion in action

• Here we have a stainless steel door handle

on an aluminium door …
– 2 metals with large difference between
them on the galvanic series
– In electrical contact
– With the junction wet ... sometimes
• The less noble metal – aluminium - is being
attacked, but …
• The design promotes run-off of water
• The inherent passivity of stainless steels
(poor cathode) limits the likelihood of
problems …. and the aluminium is also
passivated by the anodised surface.
Peter Moore

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 SS bolts accelerate carbon steel attack -
paint falls off in sheets

Lesson learnt?
Paint rarely remains
undamaged when a bolt
is tightened down onto it
– even if there is a
washer.

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 Super Duplex flange in seawater:
graphite containing gasket – galvanic/flange crevice effect

NACE 07262
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 Beware: carbon black conducts if [C] >
~30%

Inadequate
electrical isolation
between the
stainless rail & the
aluminium chair
has driven
corrosion of the
aluminium for some
distance – blistered
paint.
How long before
the support falls
off?

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 The end result

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 Anode/Cathode area ratios – a
demonstration

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 SS and painted Al – marine environment

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 Good or insulation [or none and CS washer]

A4-70
316 700MPa

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 Question break #1

So far:
• What is corrosion?
• What potential ranges are there and how they change
• A few examples of galvanic attack

Questions in the chat box?

Prior questions are dealt with later.

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 Galvanic corrosion: metal pairs

• Carbon in a porous gasket and stainless steel flange.

• Stainless steel & aluminium: which should be the fastener?
• Stainless steel and galvanised steel – bad environment makes
it more obvious especially if sheltered from rain
• Stainless steel and carbon steel – very visible!
• Carbon steel and galvanising BUT this is OK for galvanised (or
Colorbond ®) roofing BUT immersed in some [hard
bicarbonate] waters there is a temperature reversal at ~65oC so
the steel corrodes
• Carbon and aluminium - carbon black in Al truck tray
• Carbon black loading for insulating washers on roofing screws;
carbon <~30% or can form continuous electrically conducting
networks in rubber

First alloy in pair is noble or cathodic.

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 Galvanic corrosion drivers

a. Potential separation [<200mV often OK: unusual for <100mV to

cause a problem]
b. Relative area anode and cathode – small anode bad as current
density higher and metal dissolution greater
c. Current density on cathode – SS is a bad cathode – low [~10
nA/cm2] passive current density {Both metals to same potential if
corroding but Tafel slope for SS >120mV/ current decade and
need >1µA/cm2 to “see” corrosion, i.e. 2 decade shift - really?}
d. Physical distance and geometry – how far into pipe depends
on diameter (ϕ) and conductivity of the fluid – e.g. ~10ϕ in
seawater at 50mS/cm vs ~ 3ϕ in potable water at
~0.3mS/cm!
e. Corrosivity or oxidising capacity of the solution – SS
transpassive in extreme concentrations (Cl2, H2O2, O3 ..)
f. Microgalvanic chemical effects: precipitates from poor heat
treatment [carbides, sigma] or dezincification of 2 phase (high
zinc) brasses.

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 Control of galvanic corrosion: 1

ANODE CATHODE

Euro-inox
• If the potential difference between potential anode and the
potential cathode is small, there will not be galvanic acceleration
of corrosion of the potential anode
• If the electrolyte is not sufficiently aggressive to cause attack of
either metal, no accelerated attack can occur
• Assuming the cathode is stainless steel then not efficient as a
cathode, low passive current density ~10nA/cm2.

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 Galvanised and stainless [1:6 large cathode ]

Galvanic attack of zinc significantly

increases when splashed

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 Galvanic area ratio very important

If the anode area is more than 10 times the cathode area, then
galvanic corrosion is unlikely to be an issue almost regardless of
the potential difference

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 Common galvanic pairs (marine examples)

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 Galvanic corrosion in fasteners

Fastener – active material

Noble Noble
Active
Alex Gouch

Fastener – noble material

Active Active
Noble

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 Fixings and fasteners - mistakes

Pay great attention to detail: fastener and washer must be more

resistant to corrosion than the base metal

All appear to have thin (few µm) zinc plated steel - rather than
stainless steel

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 Selecting fixings and fasteners to avoid
galvanic corrosion

• Use bolts, nuts, washers which are more noble than the bulk
material
• For stainless steels, use a grade with at least as high a corrosion
resistance (≥ PRE) as the sheet metals
• See SAA HB39 for tables of acceptable metal combinations
• Where dissimilar metals are to be joined, use insulation
• In immersed or permanently damp conditions ensure the
insulation does not absorb water

Insulating bush/sleeve

SAA HB39 Installation code for metal roofing and wall cladding
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 Control of galvanic corrosion: 2

Euro-inox
ANODE CATHODE
ANODE CATHODE

Dry or seal to exclude moisture

Paint the cathode because
any small defects will not be
able to deliver much current
to dissolve the larger anode
The insulation must not
ANODE CATHODE absorb moisture, but it also
must not be bypassed by
remote connections such as
Insulator
instrument lines or earths.

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 Coatings for protection?

Carbon steel
Not enough paint?
>20mm from heat tint -
MORE if drainage
possible
Stainless steel

Need to clean weld tint

mechanically (& avoid iron
contamination of SS) & then
paint (NOT zinc rich)
protection on stainless
beyond weld affected area

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 Coatings and immersed galvanic effects
• Atmospheric galvanic currents flow in surface moisture films – bad
near the sea but rural areas not very conductive – except perhaps
fertiliser dust.
• BUT immersed?
– Seawater allows wider current “collection” than potable H2O
but chlorides in Australian capital cities vary from10mg/L to
150mg/L with consequent conductivity changes.
– Common to use coated ductile iron castings for potable
valves with stainless steel overlay for seal surface.
o Must paint onto the stainless steel – surface
preparation & overlap determined by water
conductivity!
o Are there pinholes in the coating? If so, large current
density and pit develops – worse if the valve is all
stainless steel
o QA by holiday testing of coating.

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 Failure within 2 weeks from stray current
from faulty electronics in probe
Foam sleeve keeping water from End of probe – close to earthed
probe at left SS gate

Label
removed
from end
plate

Pits extending along polish lines on

tubular probe exposed in sewage
Crevice at contact of flare inside
End grain attack of pipe
foam sleeve
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 Mathematics of stray currents

Corrosion rate = [(molecular wt)*current] / [n*(Faraday’s constant)]

Where Faraday’s constant = 96,500 and n is number of electrons in
M to Mn+ dissolution reaction (n=2 for Fe, 3 for Al, ….)

Metal Weight loss Corrosion (1 mA/cm2)

(kg/Amp.y) mm/year
Aluminium 3.0 11
Copper / to Cu2+ 10.3 12
Iron / to Fe 2+ 9.1 12
Zinc 10.7 15

Current from trains, trams, other cathodic protection (CP) systems,

leaks in supply wiring, bad earth to power supply…

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 Modelling galvanic corrosion?

NOT “potential and geometry” BUT “galvanic currents”

• Largely for aircraft, US Mil Std 899C (2016) looked at a wide range
of material couples and surface treatments while considering anode
to cathode area ratio and immersed potentials to decide on material
selection/protective treatment. Provided compatible material tables
but not good on kinetics.

• Revision D uses NaCl solutions to sweep potential and measure

current in laboratory tests for each metal – just like electrochemical
tests to determine corrosion potential and corrosion current/rate
from the intersection of the anodic (corrosion) and cathodic
(electron consuming) reactions in potentiodynamic measurements.

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 Three polarisation curves: SS, Al, Ti
Knovel, July 2020; Alan Rose

~10% of
corrosion
rate for Al:Ti
join vs Al:SS
SS
Ti

BUT – How is
Bare Al lab data
applicable,
anode to
cathode area
ratio, specific
corrosive?

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 Question break #2

So far:
• A few more examples of galvanic attack
• Area effects
• How to control galvanic effects
• Stray current attack is NOT galvanic corrosion

Questions in the chat box?

Maybe some specific issues from your work?

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 Generic guide: fastener material compatibility

D only relates to coatings on fasteners.

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 Urban atmosphere 1:1 area

Kucera & Mattsson, 1982

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 Marine atmosphere 1:1 area

Kucera & Mattsson, 1982

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 Galvanic effects in local chemistry

• Ferrite in austenitic stainless steels or more generally weld to

parent metal differences.
• De-alloying – brass and plug or general de-zincification, de-
nickelification in NAB, etc.
• Zincalume® or Galvalume® (Zn/Al alloys) where the zinc corrodes
but is retained by the aluminium.
• Iron in aluminium – was a rust spot problem on imported
aluminium cladding some years ago.

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 “Tramline” sensitisation of 316

This is not galvanic corrosion. Exposed in seawater and probably too

high heat input during site weld: pickled spiral weld in factory
(arrowed) on left is OK.

Sensitisation is formation of chromium carbides after welding thick

(>5mm) standard carbon austenitics. Both carbides and the chromium
depleted zone around them will corrode.
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 A useful side of galvanic corrosion: 1

PUMPS
Seawater pumps commonly have an
PUMPS
austenitic cast iron body (e.g., Ni-
Resist) which is anodic to the 316
Power station
sea water OUT
pump
stainless steel internals and so
protects them – especially from Austenitic cast iron
crevice corrosion. case

Stainless steel shaft

and impeller blades
Area of body much larger so loss is
only micrometre to give protection
Austenitic cast iron
prestator vanes
Similar effect from smaller pumps with
Austenitic cast infuser
bronze bodies and stainless steel shafts vanes IN
galarea03.cdr

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 Useful galvanic effects: 2

• Protection of steel roofing at scratches/defects by use of zinc or

zinc/aluminium coatings.

• Batteries and especially the non-rechargeable ones. The

Australasian Corrosion Association has a clock they run during
their conference which uses magnesium and copper in salty
water as the power source.

• Any anodic sacrificial coating.

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 Measuring galvanic effects

• Potentials – but they vary with temperature, pH, concentration,

surface roughness, etc.

• Zero resistance ammeter (ZRA) or coupling resistor with a

sensitive [digital] voltmeter.

• Interpret with electrochemical Nernst equation to allow for

concentration, temperature, etc.

• Weight loss of “wire on bolt” or sheet samples – although the ISO

data shows that contamination preferentially collects on the long
wire and increases attack, i.e., WoB is a conservative estimate of
corrosion rates.

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 Specific galvanic references
• Galvanic Corrosion: a practical guide for engineers Roger
Francis. 2nd Edn: NACE/AMPP E-book.

• ASSDA FAQ 1: Galvanic/Dissimilar metal corrosion –

www.assda.asn.au.

• AS 4036 (2006) Corrosion of metals: Dissimilar metals in contact

in seawater [not for the faint of heart].

• Euro Inox publication: Stainless steel in contact with other metallic

materials – www.worldstainless.org (2009).

• Nickel Institute publications on marine fastener selection because

galvanic corrosion is a major factor: #10045 and #14054 -
www.nickelinstitute.org.

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 AS 4036 Corrosion of metals – dissimilar
metals in contact with seawater

Very detailed and tied to

experimental results

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 Thank you
www.assda.asn.au

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