Abstract
The corrosion of mild steel in 0·05 M NaCl at 30°c under the influence of an applied square wave a.c. signal was studied. A mechanism for a.c. corrosion is presented, stressing the importance of reactions during a preceding cathodic half-cycle to the reactions during an anodic half-cycle and vice versa.
The corrosion rates of copper, lead and zinc under applied a.c. were also determined for comparative purposes.
It has been established that for 50 Hz sine wave a.c. applied to mild steel a peak current density of 471 mA.cm−2 must be exceeded before serious corrosion sets in. This has been verified by a comparison of the corrosion rates as encountered in two electrode boilers operating at current densities above and below this critical value.
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