Galvanic activity of carbon fiber reinforced polymers and electrochemical behavior of carbon fiber

Abstract

Carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) as an advanced modern engineering material has found many applications in industry because of its high strength and lightweight. However, there has been a big concern that it may cause galvanic corrosion damage to the metal in contact. This review comprehensively summarizes the existing studies on the galvanic effect of CFRPs on engineering metals. Some recent achievements are particularly focused, such as the involvement of crevice corrosion and self-corrosion in the damage of a metal/CFRP couple, the effect of micro-defects in the surface polymer layer of a CFRP on the galvanic activity, the polarization damage in a CFRP, and the electrochemical anisotropy of the reinforcing carbon fiber (CF).

Keywords

• CFRP
• Carbon fiber
• Galvanic corrosion
• Electrochemistry
• Anisotropy