: Why do large ships need anodes?

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I follow battleship New Jersey on YouTube. One of the recent topics is how the hull around the propellers can corrode more than other areas of the hull. Because of this, the navy installed sacrificial anodes.

Why would a large ship corrode around the propellers more. How to anodes prevent this?

In: Chemistry

10 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

Propellers are likely made of a different material than the hull. When you put dissimilar metals in a conductive solution like ocean water, they tend to undergo galvanic corrosion where the 2 metals start swapping atoms. The anode will be something that is easier to corrode galvanically so that it will be dissolved instead of the props.

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