1998 Volume 47 Issue 3 Pages 156-163
The authors have developed 2D, 3D and axisymmetric boundary-element-method (BEM) programs, and a BEM system based on these programs, in order to quantitatively estimate cathodic protection and macro-cell corrosion such as galvanic corrosion and differential-aeration-cell-corrosion. Because the knowledge of physical quantities (potential and current density) on the surface of corroding materials is of prime importance in corrosion problems, the authors have developed the BEM, which does not require discretization with internal elements. Whereas, conventional analysis techniques, e.g. finite-difference-method (FDM) and finite-element-method (FEM) require internal elements discretization which brings difficulties on the analysis of complicated 3D regions.
In this paper, the mechanism of galvanic corrosion and cathodic protection, and the importance of the numerical analysis technique for the predictions of these corrosion problems are described firstly. Next, the history of development of the FDM, FEM and BEM are reviewed briefly. Lastly, the BEM and the BEM system are explained, and the usefulness of the BEM system is demonstrated by showing the application examples for corrosion protection design of seawater pumps.
