CASE HISTORY CORROSION ATLAS 04.11.04.04 MATERIAL Stainless steel! (AISI 316 Ti. SYSTEM Heat exchanger. PART Attacked tube from bundle, with a new tube below it for comparison. PHENOMENON Acid corrosion. —————— APPEARANCE, Uniform attack to entire surface. TIME TO FAILURE 14 days, ENVIRONMENT ‘Around the pipe: steam, 140°C; through the pipe: synthetic detergent, sulphonic acid and occasional traces of sulphurie acid, pH <1 CAUSE AISI 316 Ti is not resistant to sulphuric acid traces at the present temperature. Attack took place at the steam inlet, where the temperature is highest. REMEDY + Reduction of the temperature if possible, and + Improvement of the sulphuric acid neutralization, or + Use of a more corrosion-resistant material, for example Hastelloy B-2 1988 CAE 0-B130 1991 2-B210CASE HISTORY CORROSION ATLAS 01.16.24.01 MATERIAL, Corten steel (slow-rusting carbon steel with several tens of percent manganese, copper, silicon and chromium), SYSTEM Civil engineering structures. PART Left: balcony railing of apartment; Right: jet screen at airport PHENOMENON Atmospheric corrosion, 1 APPEARANCE, ‘The Corten steel is uniformly corroded, and corrosion products have travelled to the | concrete structure. TIME TO FAILURE 3 years and 5 years, respectively. ENVIRONMENT Marine atmosphere. CAUSE Corten steel is covered with a compact, less moisture absorbing rust layer, due to the alloy metals, but does not possess long-term resistance to corrosion in marine and industrial atmospheres. REMEDY Although Corten steel is often chosen deliberately because of aesthetic considerations, the staining of the concrete structure is not acceptable. Under these circumstances the use of coated steel or hot-dip galvanized steel is preferable. 1991 1-B0S4 1991 2-B125CASE HISTORY CORROSION ATLAS 04.11.06.02 MATERIAL, Chromium steel (W.-Nr. 1.4772; X10 Cri 29) SYSTEM Heat recovery plant. PART Pipe PHENOMENON High-temperature corrosion (oxidation), dl 1820.24 028598 2, 2 ST a APPEARANCE Excessive wall thickness reduction and formation of a thick, yellowish scale with penetration of the pipe wall. TIME TO FAILURE 14 years, ENVIRONMENT Combustion gases from a glass melting furnace; temperature 600-1000°C. CAUSE Loss of corrosion protection by the chromium because, in the presence of chlorine in the combustion gases, chromium oxidizes to form yellowish alkali chromates, REMEDY Application of base materials with a very low content of chlorine compounds. 1991 1-B106 1991 2-B218CASE HISTORY CORROSION ATLAS 01.06.14.01 MATERIAL Baffle: carbon steel; pes: stainless steel (AISI 304), SYSTEM Once-through cooling water system, PART Heat exchanger. PHENOMENON Galvanic corrosion (with general corrosion and crevice corrosion), APPEARANCE Uniform attack to baffle, pitting to tubes in crevices. TIMETO FAILURE 10 years, ENVIRONMENT Around the pipes: cooling water at 45-47°C, 85 p.p.m. Cl”; through the pipes: Product. CAUSE Untreated carbon steel is attacked by this cooling water, and the corrosion is reinforced by the galvanic couple with stainless steel; in the crevices with the baffle, the stainless steel tubes are attacked by crevice corrosion, REMEDY Use of baffles and tubes constructed from a single material, for example AISI 316 or ‘SMO 254 stainless steel; the latter is more resistant to crevice corrosion. 1988 CAE 0-Bos4 1991 2-Bo62CASE HISTORY CORROSION ATLAS 0410.12.01 MATERIAL Stainless steel (AISI 316 L). SYSTEM Fire-extinguisher system. PART Underground pipe. PHENOMENON Chloride attack. APPEARANCE, The pipe exhibited wide local zones of severe pitting corrosion, surrounded by iron oxide deposits. TIME TO FAILURE 2 years. ENVIRONMENT Soil consisting of @ mixture of sand and lumps of clay with bog iron ore. Analysis of the clay: pH 7.6; chloride 550 p.p.m.; iron 1.5% wt; sulphide positive. The pipe lay above the groundwater level. CAUSE Inhomogeneous soil: the uneven aration and the reducing environment underneath the lumps of clay with bog ore rendered the pipe surface locally sensitive to pitting REMEDY, ‘An uncoated stainless steel pipe should be laid in a clean, homogenous sand bed to guarantee sufficient aeration. Alternative: use a well-coated stainless steel or carbon steel pipe 1991 1-B100 1991 2-B206CASE HISTORY CORROSION ATLAS 04.11.18.05 MATERIAL, Stainless steel (AISI 304), SYSTEM Textile steamer. PART. Guide bar in textile conveyor system. PHENOMENON Stress corrosion (transgranular), APPEARANCE ‘Transverse cracking. TIME TO FAILURE About 3 years. ENVIRONMENT Steam at 100°C, saturated by injection with softened water (at a later stage, with condensate), CAUSE Stress corrosion took place as a result of the simultaneous presence of: a. tensile stresses in the bar, ». high chloride content in the dyes in the textile, c. high temperature, REMEDY, Use of chloride-free dyes and injection with chloride-free condensate if the present 304 stainless steel construction is retained. Otherwise, construction of duplex steel (Cerritic-austenitic stainless steel) if a chloride-free environment cannot be guaranteed. 1988 CAE 0-B142 1991 2-B233CASE HISTORY CORROSION ATLAS 01.04.28.01 MATERIAL Carbon steel. SYSTEM Autoclave heating system (with heating oil). PART External part of heating coil. PHENOMENON Corrosion fatigue. a ye Ba ad APPEARANCE Fine, parallel cracks (“magnafluxed” pipe). (The photography has been placed upside down deliberately in order to reflect the real situation.) TIME TO FAILURE 15 years. ENVIRONMENT AL the outside: industrial atmosphere; at the inside: heating oil, 270-340°C. CAUSE High stresses caused by fluctuating temperatures, combined with atmospheric oxidation (corrosion products found in the cracks). REMEDY + Improvement of the design + Regular preventive magnetic fracture examination of the existing plant to prevent leakages. 1988 CAE 0-BO4S 1991 2-Bos4CORROSION ATLAS 04.11.19.06 CASE HISTORY MATERIAL Duplex stainless steel (X2 CrNiMON 25 6), SYSTEM Partial condenser for ammonium carbamate (see also Case History 09.11.20.01), PART Hold-down plate. PHENOMENON Intergranular corrosion and selective austenitic attack. 4,115, 16, 1/7, 118.1 APPEARANCE Nothing is visible to visual inspection, but microscopic examination discloses both selective attack to the austenitic phase and intergranular corrosion along the ferrite-austenite grain boundaries, TIME TO FAILURE, 3 years. ENVIRONMENT Condensing oxygen-free ammonium carbamate. Temperature 125°C: pressure 6 bar. ‘CAUSE Poor quality duplex steel: a high content of austenite (60-70%), @ microstructure consisting of an austenite matrix with ferrite islands instead of a ferrite matrix with austenite. Under these conditions, repassivation of the austenite does not occur. As a result a brittle fracture occurs. REMEDY Switch to a better quality duplex steel with a good austenite /ferrite balance. 1991 1-BII7 1991 2-B243,CORROSION ATLAS CASE HISTORY 06.05.16.02 MATERIAL Brass. SYSTEM Mains water system, PART Tap component. PHENOMENON Plug-type dezincification. APPEARANCE Pitting attack. TIME TO FAILURE Approx. 1 year ENVIRONMENT Mains water with a low bicarbonate content (0.4 meq/l; 20 p.p.m. CaCO). CAUSE Copper-aggressive water caused dezincification of the brass taps (the copper pipes were also attacked by pitting corrosion). REMEDY Raising the water hardness to a bicarbonate content >1.5 meq/I (75 p.p.m. CaCO,) 1988 CAE 0-B179 1991 2-B297CASE HISTORY CORROSION ATLAS 01.02.34.01 MATERIAL Carbon steel SYSTEM Steam condensate system, PART Condensate pipe. PHENOMENON Erosion corrosion, APPEARANCE Severe attack, in bend. TIMETO FAILURE Unknown, ENVIRONMENT Slightly corrosive condensate; temperature approx. 100°C. CAUSE Under-dimensioned bends in combination with high condensate velocity causes strong, turbulence, as a result of which the corrosion products are continuously removed and the attack is reinforced by erosion, REMEDY + Complete elimination of the corrosive nature of the condensate by alkalizing the latter to pH 8.5 by dosing morpholine (toxic!). + Alternative: replace the bends by larger-dimensioned specimens. 1988 CAE 0-B039 1991 2-B046CASE HISTORY CORROSION ATLAS 0411.33.01 MATERIAL Stainless steel (AISI 316). SYSTEM ‘Vacuum evaporation system for milk powder manufacture. PART Pump impeller. PHENOMENON Cavitation. APPEARANCE Material worn away locally. TIMETO FAILURE 1 year. ENVIRONMENT ‘Skimmed milk; ‘Temperature: 70°C. CAUSE Steam bubble formation at the prevailing vacuum and high temperature; pressure build-up causes the bubbles to implode at the exit side of impeller (at a lower pump capacity for the processing of full-cream milk, no problems had been encountered; the lower capacity was set by throttling the delivery valve). REMEDY After coating the impeller with a plastic lining proved incapable of preventing, cavitation, the impeller was replaced by one made of teflon PFA (perfluoroalkoxy). 1988 CAE 0-B152 1991 2-B253