An outline of the electrolytic corrosion of buried metallic structures

It is not very many years ago that the corrosion of metals was considered, more or less, as an unavoidable evil, but the enormous field for saving directed the attention of the world's scientific workers to this subject, with the resultant development of the electro-chemical theory of corrosion, which is now generally accepted as the one best explaining a multitude of facts concerning the corrosion of metals. This theory suggests that all corrosion is due to the flow of current through an electrolyte connecting the anodic and cathodic areas. It is not the intention of this paper to discuss metallic corrosion in general, but to outline briefly that small, although important section of the problem which affects the life of buried metallic structures, such as cable sheaths, water and gas pipes, concrete reinforcing, etc., and which is commonly known as “Electrolytic Corrosion.”