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Journal of Chinese Society for Corrosion and protection  2026, Vol. 46 Issue (1): 299-307    DOI: 10.11902/1005.4537.2025.081
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Galvanic Corrosion Behavior and Reaction Mechanism of Cu-Al Couple in Ethylene Glycol-Water Coolent
CHEN Simin, LIAN Longjiang, HUANG Yansong, ZENG Lanxiang, LEI Bing(), MENG Guozhe
School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Sun Yat-sen University, Zhuhai 519000, China
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CHEN Simin, LIAN Longjiang, HUANG Yansong, ZENG Lanxiang, LEI Bing, MENG Guozhe. Galvanic Corrosion Behavior and Reaction Mechanism of Cu-Al Couple in Ethylene Glycol-Water Coolent. Journal of Chinese Society for Corrosion and protection, 2026, 46(1): 299-307.

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Abstract  

In the circuit of liquid cooling system of electronic devices, there is a widespread problem of galvanic corrosion compatibility of dissimilar metal in ethylene glycol coolant, which seriously threatens the boundary integrity of liquid cooling system and the service safety of electronic devices. Based on this background, the galvanic effect and reaction mechanism between TP2 Cu-alloy and AA1060 Al-alloy in ethylene glycol-water coolent was assessed -by means of electrochemical corrosion testing and static immersion corrosion test. The results show that the corrosion potential difference of AA1060 Al-alloy as anode and TP2 Cu-alloy as cathode is 608.8 mV in ethylene glycol-water coolent, thus the risk of galvanic corrosion is high. At the initial stage of corrosion, the galvanic potential is above the pitting potential of AA1060 Al-alloy, while the spontaneous pitting of AA1060 Al-alloy occurs due to the action of strong anode polarization. The maximum pitting rate corresponding to the maximum pitting depth of AA1060 Al-alloy (188.24 μm) acquired by the immersion test is 2.29 mm/a, which is higher than the corrosion rate calculated by the galvanic current of 1.09 mm/a. This difference in corrosion rate is related to the reverse deposition of Cu2+ on AA1060 Al-alloy and the induced local micro-galvanic effect. In this process, due to the large resistance of ethylene glycol coolent and insufficient cathodic polarization of TP2, part of Cu2+ can still be dissolved through free-corrosion. The dissolved Cu2+ forms a simple Cu on the surface of AA1060 Al-alloy through displacement reaction, and forms a local micro-couple of Cu with Al matrix, which further promotes the local dissolution of AA1060 Al-alloy. Therefore, the corrosion rate acquied by electrochemical test is less than the actual corrosion rate.
Key words:  ethylene glycol refrigerant      galvanic corrosion      TP2 Cu-alloy      AA1060 Al-alloy     
Received:  11 March 2025      32134.14.1005.4537.2025.081
ZTFLH:  TG174  
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CHEN Simin
LIAN Longjiang
HUANG Yansong
ZENG Lanxiang
LEI Bing
MENG Guozhe

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https://www.jcscp.org/EN/10.11902/1005.4537.2025.081     OR     https://www.jcscp.org/EN/Y2026/V46/I1/299

MaterialFeGaVTiZnSnSiZnCuAl
TP2 Cu-alloy0.08----0.0060.0050.004Bal.-
AA1060 Al-alloy0.1930.0180.0180.0130.007-0.004-0.005Bal.
Table 1  Main chemical components of two test alloys (mass fraction / %)
Fig.1  Open circuit potentials of TP2 Cu-alloy and AA1060 Al-alloy in 55% ethylene glycol aqueous solution
Fig.2  Polarization curves of TP2 Cu-alloy and AA1060 Al-alloy in 55% ethylene glycol aqueous solution
MaterialEcorr / mV (vs. SCE)Icorr / μA·cm-2βa / mV·dec-1βc / mV·dec-1
AA1060 Al-alloy-650.20.11539.3-196.1
TP2 Cu-alloy40.40.45377.5-271.5
Table 2  Fitting parameters of polarization curves of TP2 Cu-alloy and AA1060 Al-alloy
Fig.3  Galvanic voltages and galvanic current densities of TP2-AA1060 alloy couple after immersion in 55% ethylene glycol aqueous solution for different time
RankCurrent density / μA·cm-2Corrosion gradeUsage suggestion
AIg ≤ 0.3No corrosionDirect contact
B0.3 < Ig ≤ 1.0Slight corrosionContact in certain condition
C1.0 < Ig ≤ 3.0Local corrosionNo contact, use after protection
D3.0 < Ig ≤ 10.0Critical corrosionNo contact, use after protection
EIg ≥ 10.0Severe corrosionNo contact, use after protection
Table 3  Evaluation of galvanic corrosion grade based on galvanic current density[30]
Corrosion gradeAnodic corrosion rate / mm·a-1
0< 2.29 × 10-4
12.54 × 10-4-2.29 × 10-3
22.54 × 10-3-2.29 × 10-2
32.54 × 10-2-1.26
41.27-2.53
52.54-25.39
6> 25.40
Table 4  Criteria for evaluating galvanic compatibility[31]
Fig.4  Polarization curves of TP2-AA1060 alloy couple in 55% ethylene glycol aqueous solution
Fig.5  Surface morphologies of TP2 Cu-alloy soaked in 55% ethylene glycol aqueous solution for 30 d: (a, b) uncoupled sample, (c, d) coupled sample
Fig.6  Surface morphologies of AA1060 Al-alloy soaked in 55% ethylene glycol aqueous solution for 30 d: (a, b) uncoupled sample, (c, d) coupled sample
Fig.7  Typical three-dimensional topography (a) and depth-cumulative probability distribution scatter plot (b) of pits on AA1060 Al-alloy
Corrosion gradeABC
Density / points·m-2Size / mm2Depth / mm
1≤ 2.5 × 103≤ 0.5≤ 0.4
22.5 × 103-1 × 1040.5-2.00.4-0.8
31 × 104-5 × 1042.0-8.00.8-1.6
45 × 104-1 × 1058.0-12.51.6-3.2
51 × 105-5 × 10512.5-24.53.2-6.4
Table 5  Grade evaluation of pitting based on pit density and pit size[32]
Fig.8  Corrosion mechanism of TP2-AA1060 alloy couple in 55% ethylene glycol aqueous solution
Fig.9  XPS full spectrum (a) and fine spectrum of Cu 2p (b) for coupled AA1060 Al-alloy immersed in 55% ethylene glycol aqueous solution for 30 d
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