Quantification of hydrogen evolution in corrosion testing by buoyancy measurements

Quantification of hydrogen evolution in corrosion testing by buoyancy measurements | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Method Article Quantification of hydrogen evolution in corrosion testing by buoyancy measurements Egil Gulbrandsen This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-5726344/v2 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 2 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Show more versions Abstract This report describes further development and improvements to an existing method for volumetric measurement of gas from a gas evolving electrode utilizing buoyancy measurements. The operating principle is that gas bubbles evolved at the electrode are captured in an inverted beaker suspended in the test solution, and the volume of the collected gas is determined by measuring the buoyancy that the gas exerts on the inverted beaker. The performance of the method was evaluated in a series of steady and dynamic polarisation tests of hydrogen evolution on inert cathodes and on magnesium electrodes subjected to both uniform and localised corrosion. The accuracy, precision, sensitivity, and sources of error have been analysed in detail. The method provides a useful tool for studying relatively high hydrogen evolution rates in corrosion testing. Knowledge of its limitations is however important. A general conclusion is that volumetric gas collection measurement at constant pressure has an inherent negative bias when it comes to quantifying the total production in a gas evolving electrochemical reaction due to the supersaturation needed to form gas bubbles and the displacement of supersaturated solution by the expanding gas pocket. It is also clear that such methods are amenable mostly for the higher end of corrosion rates, such as accelerated testing of less noble metals. The test results showed that, for a bare, inert electrode of 2.79 cm 2 surface area, the method was accurate to -1% at cathodic current densities above 3.5 mA/cm 2 , within -10% down to 1.5 mA/cm 2 , and within -20% down to 0.7 mA/cm 2 . Valuable semi-quantitative or qualitative information can be obtained for lower current densities if the performance of the method has been properly characterised. Long-term testing of Mg electrodes in alkaline solutions indicated that hydrogen evolution rates down to around 0.3 mA/cm 2 could be measured with high accuracy in long term tests. This better performance compared to bare, inert electrodes may be attributed to the presence of thick, porous corrosion product layers on magnesium in alkaline solutions, in which the supersaturation of hydrogen may be higher. Hydrogen evolution Volumetric gas measurement Corrosion testing Magnesium Full Text Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 2 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Show more versions Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-5726344","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Method Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":425421196,"identity":"0bc6648f-3a7b-4e3d-ab8c-faf080190cc0","order_by":0,"name":"Egil Gulbrandsen","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA+ElEQVRIiWNgGAWjYFACxsYDHxgYZAxAbB6oGDMBLQ0HZwAVI7SwEdTCwHCYhyQt/PyLGw7b/DrMYy59+NmDN39s8hjkmw9+LsCjRXLGw4bDuX2HeSz70swN57alFTOwsSVLz8CjxeDGQaCWnsM8BmcYzKR5Gw4nNrDxmDHz4NFiD9JiCdbC/k2a589/oBb+b3i1GPA3Nhxm+AHSwmMmzcN2AGQLG14tEjeAgdzbkM5j2cNTJjm3LTmxjS3NWBqfFv7+4w8f/PhjLWfOw75N4s0fu8R+5sMPP+PTwiCRAIzNNiQBNnyqIdYcABJ/CCobBaNgFIyCkQwAdmVNLpdPdEoAAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"","institution":"Gulbrandsen Technology AS","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Egil","middleName":"","lastName":"Gulbrandsen","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2024-12-28 13:23:05","currentVersionCode":2,"declarations":{"humanSubjects":false,"vertebrateSubjects":false,"conflictsOfInterestStatement":false,"humanSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false,"humanSubjectConsent":false,"humanSubjectClinicalTrial":false,"humanSubjectCaseReport":false,"vertebrateSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false},"doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-5726344/v2","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-5726344/v2","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":107704434,"identity":"c57bec1e-34d5-47b2-b254-76cc5d27c2c8","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-04-24 08:45:21","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":2506135,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"GulbrandsenMethodpaperH2measurmentsrevision2.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-5726344/v2_covered_0778fcf1-f9d1-4fd6-a398-162b1db50303.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"The authors declare no competing interests.","formattedTitle":"Quantification of hydrogen evolution in corrosion testing by buoyancy measurements","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Hydrogen evolution, Volumetric gas measurement, Corrosion testing, Magnesium","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-5726344/v2","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-5726344/v2","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eThis report describes further development and improvements to an existing method for volumetric measurement of gas from a gas evolving electrode utilizing buoyancy measurements. The operating principle is that gas bubbles evolved at the electrode are captured in an inverted beaker suspended in the test solution, and the volume of the collected gas is determined by measuring the buoyancy that the gas exerts on the inverted beaker. The performance of the method was evaluated in a series of steady and dynamic polarisation tests of hydrogen evolution on inert cathodes and on magnesium electrodes subjected to both uniform and localised corrosion. The accuracy, precision, sensitivity, and sources of error have been analysed in detail. The method provides a useful tool for studying relatively high hydrogen evolution rates in corrosion testing. Knowledge of its limitations is however important. A general conclusion is that volumetric gas collection measurement at constant pressure has an inherent negative bias when it comes to quantifying the total production in a gas evolving electrochemical reaction due to the supersaturation needed to form gas bubbles and the displacement of supersaturated solution by the expanding gas pocket. It is also clear that such methods are amenable mostly for the higher end of corrosion rates, such as accelerated testing of less noble metals. The test results showed that, for a bare, inert electrode of 2.79 cm\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e surface area, the method was accurate to -1% at cathodic current densities above 3.5 mA/cm\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e, within -10% down to 1.5 mA/cm\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e, and within -20% down to 0.7 mA/cm\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e. Valuable semi-quantitative or qualitative information can be obtained for lower current densities if the performance of the method has been properly characterised. Long-term testing of Mg electrodes in alkaline solutions indicated that hydrogen evolution rates down to around 0.3 mA/cm\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e could be measured with high accuracy in long term tests. This better performance compared to bare, inert electrodes may be attributed to the presence of thick, porous corrosion product layers on magnesium in alkaline solutions, in which the supersaturation of hydrogen may be higher.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Quantification of hydrogen evolution in corrosion testing by buoyancy measurements","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":2,"date":"2026-04-21 17:44:22","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-5726344/v2","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}},{"code":1,"date":"2025-03-07 06:44:24","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-5726344/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":1}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"9a806a41-5c11-4316-a306-15ab2e20e8a6","owner":[],"postedDate":"April 21st, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2025-03-07T06:44:24+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-04-21 17:44:22","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v2","identity":"rs-5726344","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-5726344","identity":"rs-5726344","version":["v2"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}