Mathematical modeling and simulation of the dissolution of zinc anodes in industrial electroplating

Abstract

The simulation of large-scale industrial electrodeposition of zinc is of major importance, since through the simulation, important data about the positioning of electrodes, thickness of layers, etc. can be generated. But the models used in practical applications indirectly assume small anodes and cathodes for which the electrical potential or the charge-transfer current are constant over the cathode, resp. anode. In this paper, a new type of model for the dissolution of zinc anodes is described. Furthermore, a numerical scheme to treat the model will be described and verified. The new model will be compared to a commonly known model. The paper gives an alternative model for the calculation of the current density on anodes and formulates a FEM for the approximation of Poisson equations on multiple domains with Robin-interfaces. Besides the application to the dissolution of zinc-anodes during electro-plating, the basic model and FEM can be applied to the dissolution of anodes made of a different material and to the modelling of corrosion processes.