Cathodic Protection. i need to write a paper on corrosion resistance techniques and CP is one of the more popular methods. Can someone please explain how it works in layman's terms for me?

Answer 1

The idea is to place a more active metal in contact with the metal to be protected. The more active metal gets corroded instead of the pipe, boat hull, underwater steel pilings, or whatever it is one wants to protect. The metal to be protected is the cathode and the more active metal that gets corroded first is the anode. Sometimes that is called the sacrificial anode. I have seen this done when new pipelines were being laid. A magnesium rod is driven into the ground at periodic intervals along the pipeline route. Wires can connect the anode to cathode if they aren't touching physically. Here is a site that goes into much more detail.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cathodic_protection