2004/1 PAGES 18 22 RECEIVED 18.3. 2004 ACCEPTED 26.4.

2004

V. DUBOV, J. KRI

Jozef Kri, Associate Professor, MSc., PhD.

Research fields : Water Supply, Water Treatment, Water Sources.

Vanda Dubov, Assistant Professor, MSc., PhD.

Research fields : Water Supply, Water Treatment, Water Sources.

Slovak University of Technology
Faculty of Civil Engineering
Department of Sanitary Engineering
Radlinskeho 11, 813 68 Bratislava, Slovakia,
Phone: ++421 2 59274610
Fax: ++421 2 52921 184

CORROSION TESTS OF A STEEL

PIPELINE WATER DISTRIBUTION
SYSTEM

ABSTRACT

KEY WORDS

The paper deals with corrosion tests performed on the Jelka - Galanta - Nitra water
pipeline. The corrosion of the steel pipes was tested during two periods the first period
from 1995-96, when the water was disinfected by gaseous Cl2, and the second from
200103, when the disinfectant used was ClO2. Tests were done on the samples
according to the Slovak Technical Standards as well as on samples with a 2.5 times
greater area. The tests are described, and the results of both test series compared
(especially the corrosion velocities).

1. INTRODUCTION
In the past as well as the present, water pipeline systems were
constructed of steel conduits that were, except for their good
mechanical attributes, liable to corrosion. The internal corrosion of
steel pipelines causes serious problems and financial losses, because
corrosion creates a progressive failure of pipelines, and the whole
water supply system becomes defective. All water supply providers
encounter the internal corrosion of pipelines, to a greater or lesser
extent. In order to know if anticorrosion measures are needed, it is
necessary to understand the interaction of transferred water and
pipeline material. Therefore, it is understandable that operators have
to monitor corrosion, especially when a change in the disinfection of
distributed water occurs.
Therefore, we have conducted corrosion tests on the Jelka Galanta
Nitra long-distance pipeline system, which is situated in southern

18

Steel pipeline,
corrosion,
corrosion velocity,
effect of gaseous Cl2 and ClO2
on corrosion

Slovakia, since assessment of the corrosive influence of water only

on the basis of chemical analyses is not always sufficient. We
accomplished biannual and annual tests on this water conduit from
1995-96, when the transferred water was disinfected with gaseous
Cl2. The disinfectant was changed later; instead of Cl2, ClO2 was
used. During a transitional period, both gaseous Cl2 and ClO2 were
added to the water; now only ClO2 is used for this purpose.

2. THE CORROSION TESTS AND THEIR EVALUATION

The Jelka Galanta Nitra water conduit is constructed mainly
from DN 700 steel piping, which is 52 km long, so that the water
must be pumped 4 times.
Groundwater is transferred in the water piping system. Its physical
and chemical attributes meet the standards of Ministry of Health SR

2004 SLOVAK UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

2004/1 PAGES 18 22

Regulation No. 29/2002 Coll., dated 9.1.2002, On the requirements

for drinking water and drinking water quality, which fully correspond with the valid EU standards. The quality of the water pumped
from the wells in Jelka does not significantly change within a year,
and it also does not change in spite of the longer transport distance and
retention of water in the system; the chemical status of the transported water is nearly the same all the time. The pH values of the transported water range from 7.6 7.7, ANC4,5 4.1 4.3 mmol.l-1 and Ca2+
90-98 mg.l-1. The water is hygienically secured by chlordioxide
which is dosed to the water behind the storage tank in Jelka at the
beginning of the route. In Jelka 0.16 mg.l-1ClO2 was found, in Galanta, 0.12-0.13 mg.l-1 ClO2, and in Nitra, 0.05 0.06 mg.l-1 ClO2.
We performed corrosion tests at three points of the system,
specifically in Jelka - at the beginning of the route, in Galanta at the
pumping station at the 13th km of the route and then at the end of
the route in the armature chamber of the water reservoir in Nitra
(Figure 1).

Figure 1 Scheme of the water distribution system

In contrast to the measurements taken from 1995-96, the corrosion

monitoring facilities in 2001-03 were located at the same sites in
Jelka and Nitra; only the monitoring facility on the route at Galanta
was added.
The corrosion tests were done in compliance with Slovak Technical
Standard (STS) 83 0615, Requirements for the quality of water
transported by pipeline.The requirements for the anticorrosion
measures according to this STS are based on finding the difference
between the decline in weight of the test samples by day 30 and day
60 after their exposure to the effect of stream water. The corrosion
velocities were computed from the corrosion declines on the basis
of which we assigned aggressiveness levels to the water (out of the 3
possible) and determined if the anti-corrosion measures were
necessary or not. For a more exact determination of the velocity of
the corrosion and the corrosive process, we continued the testing
and took measurements exceeding the requirements of STS, on days
191, 364 and 554.

At every monitoring site 4 holders with the tested samples were

inserted. The samples were installed into glass tubes, and with the
help of PVC hosepipes, were connected directly onto the pipeline.
Into every holder 5 samples isolated by a dielectric element were
inserted. The tested samples were made of class 11 steel plate, with
a size of 42 x 42 mm and a thickness of 1mm. The 30-day corrosion
was monitored in the top holder in the tube; in the next holder we
measured and changed the samples after 60 days. Then, instead of
the third holder, we inserted a new holder with samples. There, the
365-day corrosion was monitored, and the lowest holder was used
for monitoring the 554-day corrosion.
We monitored declines in corrosion, corrosion velocity, the velocity
of the water in the tube, the chemical composition of the water and,
in addition to the previous tests, the sedimentation amount in specific samples to determine if a relation exists between the amount of
sediment and the corrosion velocity, versus the type of corrosion.
After 120 testing days, the samples of the 2.5 times larger surface
were placed in the two upper holders instead of the original standard
samples. Only two testing samples were inserted into the holder, but
without the dielectric elements, which were substituted for by a larger gap between the samples. The total surface of the new samples
in the holder was the same as in the holder with the standard
samples. The dielectric elements may cause inequality between the
standard samples and may initiate an increase in the amount of
sediment around them, which affects the corrosion. Omitting the
dielectric elements enabled us to recognize the effect of pipeline
undulation on the corrosion process.
We monitored and evaluated 30, 60, 191, 364 and 554-day corrosion,
while in Galanta, due to the testing facility which had been installed
later, the 0.5 and 1.5 year measurements were shortened by two
weeks, i.e., only 177 and 540-day corrosions were evaluated. On the
large samples, 30, 60 and 364-day corrosions were monitored.
The corrosion velocities evaluated on the standard samples are
shown in Table 1.
As can be seen from the measurement results, the corrosion
velocities calculated from the beginning of the test (i.e., from day
zero) tended to decrease as the exposure time increased. The highest
corrosion velocities of all the monitored cases were reached at the
beginning of the route in Jelka, while the results from Galanta and
Nitra do not vary significantly. On the basis of the corrosion velocity
between days 30 and 60 (according to the STS), the water can be
categorized into the first level of (up to 50 m.year-1) the water is
moderately aggressive, the results of which indicate that no other
anti-corrosion measures were required. The highest corrosion
velocity between days 30 and 60 was detected in Galanta.
After a visual review of the samples, we recognized that the
sediments and corrosion products in Jelka steadily adhered to the
samples, which were all coated with a rough, gritty layer of

CORROSION TESTS OF A STEEL PIPELINE WATER DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM

19

2004/1 PAGES 18 22

sediment. After cleaning the samples, their whole surface was

disrupted. This disruption was foveolar and nearly coherent,
whereas some foveales were osculating. There were fewer
sediments and corrosion material in Galanta, and these were located
unevenly, mainly along the margins and concentrated in bigger
Table 1 Comparison of corrosion velocities on the J-GA-N route
(standard samples)
Corrosion velocity vt (m.year-1 = 10-6m. year-1)
Days

Jelka
2001-03

0 - 30

Galanta

95-96

2001-03

95.4-92.1 76.67
59

52.62

60.2

0 - 191 /177*

54

26.79

36.9*

44

29.28

0 - 554 /540*

36.2
23.5-26.8 28.00

30 - 60
30 - 191/177*

46.5

16.81

30 - 365

39.,7

24.98

30 - 554/540*

32.,9

2001-03

95-96

77 - 79.2 74.5 - 94.5 71.4

0 - 60
0 - 364

Nitra

54.5 - 58.6 53.8

31.4

29.73

30.63

27.15*

23.26

29

38.6 - 45.3 27.5 - 39.3 36.2

26.1 - 28.7*20.2 - 21.5 21.5
24.4 - 25.,6

17.5

23.5 - 24.2*

27.3

clusters. The sediments adhered less steadily to the samples and

formed mostly isolated foveales with sporadically vertical
corrugations on the sample surfaces. The sediments in Nitra were of
a similar character as those in Jelka, but their sediment layer was
thinner, more uneven and less adherent.
The approximate amount of sediment per gram/sample according to
the specific experiment is shown in Table 2.
By comparing the corrosion test results from 1995-96, when the
water was sanitarily secured by gaseous Cl2, with the present
standard tests that use ClO2, a significant increase in the corrosion
declines and velocities did not occur. Higher corrosion declines and
velocities than the 1995-96 tests were found in Jelka by days 191
and 364. A significant increase in corrosion declines occurred by
day 554 in Nitra, although all five samples from this set did not
differ much from each other, either by declines or the sedimentation
amount. Only at this particular site did an increase in corrosive
decline occur in the third half-year, i.e., between days 554 and 364
(23.23 m) versus the second half-year, i.e., between days 364 and
191 (6.84 m). Except for this one measurement, the other corrosion
declines (increases in declines over time) had a decreasing trend
with growing exposure time, whereas the dependence between the time
of exposure and corrosive declines is not linear, as seen in Fig. 2.
In Table 2 the results of the corrosion declines measured on the large

Table 2 Comparison of the corrosive declines and sediments in the standard and large samples in %
Standard samples
Days

Ut (m)
2001-03 (100%)

Large samples
Sediments

Ut (m)

Sediments *

Ut

Sedim.

95-96

(g/sample) (100%)

(2001-03)

(g/standard.sample)

30.

7.58 - 7.84

6.30

0.2493 - 0.3054

6.16

0.2224

79/81

73/89

60.

9.77

8.63

0.3494

7.26

0.2473

74

71

191.

28.28

13.21

1.0556

364.

44

28.9

1.6056

18.68

0.6203

42

39

554.

55

2.2459

30.

6.33 - 7.38

0.3161 - 0.3730

5.16

0.1914

70/82

51-61

6.57

0.2633

62

51

15.71

0.7232

53

55

60.

10.55

0.5174

177.

17.90

0.8116

364.

29.73

1.3275

540.

40.16

1.698

30.

6.94 - 7.51

5.87

0.2284 - 0.2470

4.86

0.169

65-70

68-74

60.

8.81 - 9.96

8.84

0.3433 - 0.3572

6.33

0.2044

64-72

57-59

191.

16.44

14.69

0.6092

364.

23.26

0.8290

15.07

0.5309

65

64

554.

46.49

1.8262

* The sediment amount is calculated with regard to the size of the standard sample

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CORROSION TESTS OF A STEEL PIPELINE WATER DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM

2004/1 PAGES 18 22

Galanta

Nitra

Figure 2 The process of corrosive declines in Jelka, Galanta

and Nitra at the time of the sample exposure
samples and the reference amounts of the sediments and corrosion
products are also introduced. The sediments on the large samples, for
the purpose of comparison with the sediments on the standard samples, are given as recalculated adequately to the size of the standard
samples. The increases in corrosion declines on the large samples showed a decreasing trend at all of the three monitored sites with exposure
time, and they are lower than the standard samples. The ratio between
the declines measured on the standard samples and the large samples
is approximately equal as between the sediment amount of the standard samples and large samples. This ratio grew with the exposure
time at Jelka and Galanta; using the 30-day measurement, the
corrosion declines of the large samples are 70 - 82% of the standard
sample value, and using the annual monitoring, there is only a 42
53% decline. The ratio of the corrosion declines of the standard and
large samples is more balanced in Nitra; the corrosion declines of
the large samples are 65 - 70 % of the standard sample value using
the 30-day measurement and 65% using the annual monitoring.
Comparing the sediment amount (g/sample) and the corrosive
declines (g/sample), it is possible to state that the increasing amount
of sediment intensified the corrosive declines and the corrosion
itself. As can be seen on Figures 3, 4 and 5, and especially Fig. 6,
where samples from all the standard measurements are ranked by
their amount of sediment, the corrosive declines increase more
slowly than the sediments. The sediment amount of specific samples
changed not only in particular experiments, but also within a single
experiment. The smallest amount of sediment was mostly found on
the lowest sample of the frames, which is documented in Figs. 3, 4
and 5, where all the corrosive declines and sediments on particular
samples from the experiments at Jelka, Galanta and Nitra are
presented. They are ranked by samples in a frame, whereas the first
value from the left refers to the highest placed sample of the frame.
The great dispersion of the amount of sediments in particular samples
in the day 554 exposure time (Figs. 3; 4 and 5) is probably caused
by the changing velocity of the water in the monitoring devices.

Figure 3 Comparison of amount of sediment and corrosive declines

of particular samples at Jelka within their exposure time

Figure 4 Comparison of amount of sediment and corrosive declines

of particular samples at Galanta within their exposure time

Figure 5 Comparison of amount of sediment and corrosive declines

of particular samples at Nitra within their exposure time

CORROSION TESTS OF A STEEL PIPELINE WATER DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM

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Figure 6 Comparison of the amount of sediment and corrosion

declines of particular samples within their exposure times ranged
by amount of sediment.

3. CONCLUSIONS
We can conclude that a comparison of the present experiments with
the experiments from 1995-96 indicates no significant changes in

corrosive velocities occurred in spite of the change in the sanitary

securing of the water. The visual examination of the samples implies
a change in the type of corrosion; while the corrosion in Nitra and
Jelka had been of a foveolar type before, and the foveoles were
deeper and rare and the residual surface unfaulted, almost the
whole surface, especially in Jelka, is currently perturbed with
foveaoles, which often interfere.
On the basis of the results of the 30, 60 and 364-day
measurements, the corrosion occurs less in the large samples than
in the standard samples. The corrosion has declined; the
velocities and amounts along the route are more stable; and they
have changed less significantly than in the standard samples. The
decrease in corrosion declines in the large samples to 43-64% of
the standard sample values in the 364-day measurements implies
the possibility of influencing the corrosion declines by pipeline
undulations.
This article was written on the basis of support provided by the
VEGA grant research project 1/0324/03 that was researched at the
Department of Sanitary Engineering, Faculty of Civil Engineering,
STU Bratislava.

REFERENCES

STS 83 0615: Poiadavky na akos vody dopravovanej potrubm

(Requirements for the quality of water transported by pipeline )
VYHLKY MZ SR . 29/2002 Z.z. z 9.1.2002:
O poiadavkch na pitn vodu a kvalitu pitnej vody-Regulations
of MoH SR No. 29/2002 Coll. dated 9.1.2002 (Requirements for
drinking water and drinking water quality ).
DUBOV,V. - KRI, J. - ILAVSK, J. (2002): Korzia
oceovho potrubia diakovodnho systmu (Corrosion of a
long-distance steel pipeline system). In: Proceedings of 6th
International Conference, "Water Zln 2002", pp. 49-54.

22

DUBOV, V. - KULTTYOV, I. - MARTO, J. (2000):

Corrosive effect of groundwater on steel pipelines. In: 4th
International Conference on the Water Supply and Water
Quality, Cracow - Poznan, Poland, pp. 1095-1101.
DUBOV, V. - KULTTYOV, I. - MARTO, J. (1999):
Vplyv prepravovanej vody na korziu oceovho potrubia (Effect
of transported water on steel conduit corrosion) In: Proceedings
of 3rd International Conference, "Water Zln 1999", Zln, pp.
31 - 36.

CORROSION TESTS OF A STEEL PIPELINE WATER DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM