Real metals and alloys ranked from active to noble by the potential each one settles at in one environment, most often flowing seawater. Magnesium, zinc and aluminum sit at the active end, carbon steel and cast iron in the middle, and copper alloys, passive stainless steels, titanium and graphite toward the noble end. Engineers use it to predict which metal will corrode in a couple and to choose anode materials. Unlike the textbook EMF series, it reflects real alloys with their surface films.
Check the galvanic series before you hang a bronze valve on that aluminum hull, they're a long way apart.
Also heard as
- practical galvanic series
Related terms
Galvanic corrosion
Accelerated corrosion of the more active metal when two dissimilar metals touch in a shared electrolyte.
Native potential
Potential of a buried or immersed structure before any cathodic protection current is applied.
Sacrificial anode
Block of a more active metal such as magnesium, zinc or aluminum that corrodes to protect connected steel.
Reference electrode
Electrode with a stable, known potential that serves as the fixed zero for measuring structure potentials.