VAPOR SPACE AND LIQUID/AIR INTERFACECORROSION TESTS

Zapp, P. ; Hoffman, E.

Savannah River Site (S.C.)

关键词: Corrosion;    Carbon Steels;    Testing;    Liquid Wastes;    Evaporation;   

DOI  :  10.2172/968320
RP-ID  :  SRNL-STI-2009-00649
RP-ID  :  DE-AC09-08SR22470
RP-ID  :  968320

美国|英语

来源: UNT Digital Library

【 摘 要 】

The phenomena of vapor space corrosion and liquid/air interface corrosion of carbon steel in simulated liquid waste environments have been investigated. Initial experiments have explored the hypothesis that vapor space corrosion may be accelerated by the formation of a corrosive electrolyte on the tank wall by a process of evaporation of relatively warmer waste and condensation of the vapor on the relatively cooler tank wall. Results from initial testing do not support the hypothesis of electrolyte transport by evaporation and condensation. The analysis of the condensate collected by a steel specimen suspended over a 40 C simulated waste solution showed no measurable concentrations of the constituents of the simulated solution and a decrease in pH from 14 in the simulant to 5.3 in the condensate. Liquid/air interface corrosion was studied as a galvanic corrosion system, where steel at the interface undergoes accelerated corrosion while steel in contact with bulk waste is protected. The zero-resistance-ammeter technique was used to measure the current flow between steel specimens immersed in solutions simulating (1) the high-pH bulk liquid waste and (2) the expected low-pH meniscus liquid at the liquid/air interface. Open-circuit potential measurements of the steel specimens were not significantly different in the two solutions, with the result that (1) no consistent galvanic current flow occurred and (2) both the meniscus specimen and bulk specimen were subject to pitting corrosion.