Why this test matters
Corrosion can lead to material degradation, loss of functionality, and safety risks, often long before it becomes visible. Electrochemical corrosion testing evaluates how a material actually behaves in a given environment, so you can catch corrosion susceptibility in minutes to days instead of waiting out a long-term exposure test. It also lets you assess galvanic corrosion, the accelerated corrosion that happens when two dissimilar metals are in contact, a risk that's easy to miss until it shows up in the field. This test applies to conductive metals, composites, and 3D-printed structures, tested in water, saltwater, or a custom electrolyte to match your real operating environment.
How the test works
The sample is placed in a three-electrode electrochemical cell: the sample itself as the working electrode, a reference electrode (Ag/AgCl by default, others on request), and a counter electrode (graphite by default, others on request), immersed in your chosen electrolyte at a temperature between room temperature and 80°C. From this setup, different electrochemical techniques give you corrosion behavior in a given environment, working potential, uniform corrosion rate, passivation behavior, and pitting potential. To assess galvanic corrosion specifically, the counter electrode is replaced with a second test metal, giving you the coupled potential between both metals relative to the reference electrode, typically run alongside the standard corrosion behavior test of the primary metal..
What you learn from this test
You receive quantitative data on corrosion rate, corrosion potential, passivation behavior, and pitting susceptibility, along with galvanic corrosion data when dissimilar metals are involved. To understand the mechanism behind these results, not just the numbers, the test can be combined with optical microscopy, SEM/EDX, or water analysis, connecting what you measure electrochemically to what's visibly and chemically happening at the surface. This lets you select materials, optimize surface protection, validate durability claims, and catch a corrosion risk, including one caused by a dissimilar-metal assembly, before it reaches production.
