Numerical Simulation of Cathodic Protection of Typical Aluminum Sacrificial Anodes for Marine Ballast Tank

The corrosion of the marine ballast tanks under service conditions is serious. To address the above problem, the corrosion protection effects of Al-Zn-In-Mg-Ti and Al-Zn-In-Mg-Ga-Mn aluminum sacrifice anodes on ballast tanks in different service stages are studied by numerical simulation. It is found out that both Al-Zn-In-Mg-Ti and Al-Zn-In-Mg-Ga-Mn could protect the ballast tank well in the initial stage. With the wet-dry cycle number increases, crusting occurs on the Al-Zn-In-Mg-Ti sacrifice anode surface, leading to the local area of ballast tank unprotected. The Al-Zn-In-Mg-Ga-Mn aluminum sacrifice anode remains high activity, and can provide good cathodic protection for the ballast tank during the service. The test results can provide references for the sacrifice anode design for the marine ballast tank.