Communities

Writing
Writing
Codidact Meta
Codidact Meta
The Great Outdoors
The Great Outdoors
Photography & Video
Photography & Video
Scientific Speculation
Scientific Speculation
Cooking
Cooking
Electrical Engineering
Electrical Engineering
Judaism
Judaism
Languages & Linguistics
Languages & Linguistics
Software Development
Software Development
Mathematics
Mathematics
Christianity
Christianity
Code Golf
Code Golf
Music
Music
Physics
Physics
Linux Systems
Linux Systems
Power Users
Power Users
Tabletop RPGs
Tabletop RPGs
Community Proposals
Community Proposals
tag:snake search within a tag
answers:0 unanswered questions
user:xxxx search by author id
score:0.5 posts with 0.5+ score
"snake oil" exact phrase
votes:4 posts with 4+ votes
created:<1w created < 1 week ago
post_type:xxxx type of post
Search help
Notifications
Mark all as read See all your notifications »
Q&A

Post History

75%
+4 −0
Q&A Possible stray current corrosion in reinforced concrete

First clarify where this leakage current will be flowing. You seem to think that some parts of the solar panel will generate a small current thru the rebar into the ground, but where is the closed...

posted 2y ago by Olin Lathrop‭

Answer
#1: Initial revision by user avatar Olin Lathrop‭ · 2022-12-05T13:03:58Z (almost 2 years ago)
First clarify where this leakage current will be flowing.  You seem to think that some parts of the solar panel will generate a small current thru the rebar into the ground, but where is the closed loop?

The polarity also matters.  Current flowing one direction from steel to dirty water causes corrosion, but the opposite polarity actually provides some protection.  I don't remember which direction is which.  This is something for you to look up.

Note that galvanized steel exploits this directional phenomenon.  Galvanizing steel means coating it with a thin layer of an anode material, usually zinc.  If there is a break in the zinc coating the zinc and steel form a battery such that the current flows to protect the steel.  This does cause the zinc to be eventually consumed.

Oil platforms in the ocean are usually made of steel, and are protected from corrosion by zinc anodes placed around the structure.  The current from the zinc, steel, and seawater battery protects the steel.  The zinc anodes are slowly consumed by the process, and are periodically replaced.