Cathodic protection of A1 hull ship

Heavy paint coating loss and localized corrosion of the Al alloy hull occur red after less than a year's service of a ship at sea. Examination and analysis showed that the Mg-basic sacrificial anodes originally used for cathodic protection were not suitable as the resulting −1.3V-plus (vs Ag/AgCl) protection potential for the hull was too negative for the purpose. A new protection system was designed in which the protection current densities were 15mA/m² for the hull and 350mA/m² for the propeller. The hull protection potential under actual condition at sea was between −920mV and −1100mV (Ag/AgCl) and the protection efficiency was over 90%. The protection areas were calculated by using the formulas A=1.8×LBP×D+BC×LB×B for the hull and A_s=2Aa_s for the propeller. Contribution No. 1640 from the Institute of Oceanology, Academia Sinica.