Correlation of steel corrosion in pipe flow with jet impingement and rotating cylinder tests
- Exxon Product Research Co., Houston, TX (United States)
The relationship of laboratory fluid flow corrosion test techniques to flow-accelerated corrosion in field applications and the parameters required to apply laboratory data effectively in the field were studied. Single-phase, aqueous, sweet corrosion of steel in turbulent pipe flow was correlated to corrosion in jet impingement and rotating cylinder tests. All tests were conducted simultaneously, using the same test fluid to minimize environmental variables and to allow a direct, realistic comparison of test methods. Rotating cylinder electrode corrosion rates did not correlate with pipe flow based on wall shear stress or mass transfer for flow-accelerated corrosion of carbon (C) steel in the environment studied. Jet impingement corrosion rates for the test ring at r/r{sub 0} = 3 correlated with pipe flow based on wall shear stress. The general equation for flow-accelerated corrosion of C steel under turbulent flow conditions in this environment was expressed as: R = a{tau}{sub w}{sup b} where R was the C steel corrosion rate in mm/y and {tau}{sub w} was the wall shear stress in N/m{sup 2}. Effects of solution chemistry were contained in the equation coefficient and exponent and require further experimental definition. The physical fluid and hydrodynamic parameters were included in {tau}{sub w}. Use of wall shear stress as the correlating factor did not imply a shear mechanism for corrosion acceleration. Wall shear stress was found to be a hydrodynamic factor that can be used effectively to relate fluid flow in different geometries, allowing valid comparison of laboratory tests and field operations.
- OSTI ID:
- 142363
- Journal Information:
- Corrosion, Vol. 49, Issue 12; Other Information: PBD: Dec 1993
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Corrosion of carbon steel by CO{sub 2} solutions: The role of fluid flow
Computational Fluid Dynamic simulations of pipe elbow flow.