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Over 20 years of experience in chemical water treatment and ultrasonic pipe testing has
provided CorrView International an excellent understanding of many common corrosion
related problems found at commercial office properties and plant facilities. Indeed, we see
the same corrosion problems again and again - which indicates to us some clear and
unmistakable trends for different piping systems and operating conditions.
We offer below some general guidelines of where corrosion problems might exist and
why. Many corrosion scenarios are linked to others obviously in similar cause or effect.
Although the corrosion issue is complex, and may present itself in many different forms, it
often begins due to some simple initiating factor - a lack of chemical treatment, or a faulty
start-up of the system, for example. The presence of a corrosion problem in any particular
area should always raise concern and the need for further investigation.
Higher corrosion rates are often found at the return lines for open
process or cooling tower systems. This difference does not commonly
exist in closed systems.
Sorting a large set of testing data based upon flow direction for a
condenser water loop will often show this difference quite clearly - with
1-3 MPY higher return side corrosion rates not uncommon.
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Another is that the iron oxide created at the supply side piping then has
opportunity to migrate downstream to the return side - where it is more
likely to deposit and create higher corrosion conditions. See Technical
Bulletin C-4 about the problems associated with interior deposits.
This problem exists for open and closed systems both, but more so
obviously at open cooling systems due to the greater source of airborne
particulates, microbiological content, and due to the naturally higher
corrosion rates of an open system. See Table C-1 for the actual pounds
of metal lost at various corrosion rates.
For tall commercial building properties, the vertical risers often show
substantially less corrosion and pitting than the horizontal runs. Longer
vertical runs increase the difficulty for particulates to migrate upward
and therefore horizontal settlement increases. Larger volumes of pipe
also produce a greater volume of iron oxide deposit which inevitably
settles elsewhere.
The first involves the settlement of particulates into the lowest points of
the system to produce an under deposit condition with substantially
higher corrosion rates.
Second involves the layout of the piping system, and whether significant
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Depending upon whether the system is partially drained over the cold
weather months, a third possibility may be the substantially higher
corrosion which occurs at any pipe which is drained and left open to
the atmosphere. This is a common problem at roof level piping. See
Technical Bulletin # C-3 about increased corrosion activity during
winter or temporary drain down.
For a wide variety of reasons, threaded pipe almost always shows the
first sign of a corrosion problem. This is primarily because as much as
65% of the available pipe wall is cut away during the threading process
itself on day one. This small diameter pipe also offers inherently less
wall thickness - thereby an already thin material is reduced even
further.
Threaded pipe usually exists at lower flow areas, and at the furthermost
extremes of the system at the process equipment or A/C units. Here,
flow rates are the lowest, or may be periodically shut down altogether -
two additional factors commonly associated with higher corrosion rates.
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Gaps at the pipe fittings also offer opportunity for particulates and
microbiological growths to collect and produce a localized corrosion
problem - once again focused at the very weakest point of the system.
While adequate pipe may exist along 99% of its length, a failure at the
threads usually means the end of service for the entire pipe length.
Any by-pass loops, especially those having the downstream side closed
by a valve, are high priority areas for severe pitting corrosion to
develop. This occurs when particulates enter and settle out in the pipe
in high quantities to produce severe under deposit pitting, and is quite
common.
Pipe serving lead and lag equipment, or where the water flow is shut
down when the equipment is de-energized, is especially vulnerable to
much higher corrosion activity.
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Higher corrosion rates are often found at the new pipe following a pipe
repair, replacement, or extension to an existing system. This is
especially common at condenser or open process water systems.
Galvanic activity between new and clean pipe and old and deposit laden
pipe is also recognized as occurring - although the mechanism is not
completely understood.
In many cases, identifying a corrosion problem is simply a question of looking in the right
direction. Quite often, no problem is known about, nor even suspected, until some special
interest is raised. Under the worst case scenario, a problem may exist for years and exhibit
no indication to the property owner, operators, or chemical treatment contractor.
Ultrasonic testing excels as the most valuable corrosion monitoring tool for the purpose of
finding hidden faults since it provides a quick and low cost method of determining wall
thickness. Coupled with a thorough data analysis, ultrasound can provide an almost
complete understanding of piping system integrity. Areas of concern raised can them be
confirmed or further investigated through metallurgical testing or other methods.
Review our disclaimer on any technical information contained within this article.
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CorrView is the first "pipe fuse" for HVAC systems. Produces a brilliant color change
indicating that a predetermined amount of pipe wall thickness has been lost due to internal
corrosion.
We hope the above Technical Bulletin has been interesting and helpful.
Please feel free to contact CorrView International, LLC at any time to discuss
any particular corrosion, piping, or rust problem or concern.
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