Inspectioneering

Corrosion and Materials is a field of study that focuses on understanding the causes and mechanisms of corrosion. According to API 510 and API 570, corrosion and materials specialists are professionals who are “knowledgeable and experienced in the specific process chemistries, degradations mechanisms, materials selection, corrosion mitigation methods, corrosion monitoring techniques, and their impact on equipment and piping systems.”

In reality, the roles and responsibilities of corrosion and materials engineers are extensive. Not only are they relied upon for corrosion and material expertise, they also have to be knowledgeable about nondestructive examination methods, inspection planning, risk-based inspection, process safety management, and much more. A list of 50 important roles and responsibilities of a corrosion and materials specialist can be found here.

Corrosion

Corrosion is one of the most problematic issues in the oil and gas and process industries and often leads to significant operation and maintenance costs. Corrosion takes place in a variety of environments from atmospheric conditions to aqueous solutions. The primary corrosive agent is dissolved oxygen, followed by sulfur compounds and salts, such as sodium chloride (which is inevitably found in marine environments).

Corrosion can develop in a number of different forms. The specific form is dependent on the environment in which a piece of metallic equipment is operating. The most common types of corrosion include:

Each of these processes occur by a specific mechanism and are dependent on the type of material, design of the component, and environmental conditions.

Corrosion also occurs at various rates and is determined by evaluating the amount of material loss over time. The rate of corrosion is also associated with the chemical reaction between the metal component and the surrounding environment. The basis of this chemical reaction is the transfer of electrons. Unfortunately, this reaction occurs spontaneously and is also electrochemically favourable, making corrosion issues difficult to manage.

Materials

Corrosion can have negative effects on ceramics at high temperatures, however, the most severe effects occur with ferrous metals. Metals should be carefully selected in order to optimize facility production and eliminate premature failure. Furthermore, metal materials should inherently possess corrosion and high-temperature resistance properties as well as desirable mechanical properties. The material selection process should also take into account material availability, costs, and safety. Once a material is selected, the design and fabrication of an asset should meet specifications and align with the facility’s goals to perform a specific function.

For example, stainless steel, galvanized steel, plain carbon steel, and aluminum and copper alloys are metals used in atmospheric environments. In marine environments, titanium, brass, and copper-nickel alloys are some of the materials of choice used in offshore oil facilities.1 If small amounts of corrosion are identified, the component may be repairable. However, significant corrosion damage can alter the ductility or strength of a component which can lead to adverse consequences.

Corrosion Control

Each type of corrosion can be treated individually using a number of methods. However, there are several general corrosion prevention techniques that can help control corrosion. These techniques include proper material selection and equipment design, protective coatings and films, the addition of corrosion inhibitors, and cathodic protection. Nondestructive testing techniques are also effective methods for monitoring corrosion and providing information of the condition of a component.

References

  1. Callister Jr., W.D., Rethwisch, D.G., Materials Science and Engineering, 9th ed., John Wiley & Sons, 2014.

 

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Articles about Corrosion and Materials
November/December 2023 Inspectioneering Journal

Part 2 of this three-part series on brittle fracture focuses on methods for evaluating the risk in pressure equipment and the evolution of screening and assessment methods.

September/October 2023 Inspectioneering Journal

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May/June 2023 Inspectioneering Journal

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May/June 2023 Inspectioneering Journal

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March/April 2023 Inspectioneering Journal

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January/February 2023 Inspectioneering Journal

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January/February 2023 Inspectioneering Journal

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November/December 2022 Inspectioneering Journal

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November/December 2022 Inspectioneering Journal

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November/December 2022 Inspectioneering Journal

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November/December 2022 Inspectioneering Journal

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September/October 2022 Inspectioneering Journal

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September/October 2022 Inspectioneering Journal

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September/October 2022 Inspectioneering Journal

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July/August 2022 Inspectioneering Journal

This final installment of a 3-part series on SCC mitigation will provide practical, actionable steps to improve long-term equipment reliability through design, fabrication/welding, heat treatment, maintenance/repair, and process operating practices.

May/June 2022 Inspectioneering Journal

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May/June 2022 Inspectioneering Journal

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Authors: Greg Garic
May/June 2022 Inspectioneering Journal

Part 2 of the three-part series on stress corrosion cracking (SCC) that examines common engineering and FFS methods that can be leveraged to understand and evaluate the propensity for an existing form of SCC to lead to loss of containment.

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March/April 2022 Inspectioneering Journal

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March/April 2022 Inspectioneering Journal

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March/April 2022 Inspectioneering Journal

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March/April 2022 Inspectioneering Journal

This article provides an overview of some of the more common forms of stress corrosion cracking (SCC) with a focus on effective inspection methods for detecting these forms of cracking.

January/February 2022 Inspectioneering Journal

This article describes HTHA predictive modeling advances that are designed to demonstrate a direct integration with inspection such that modeling and inspection can be leveraged together in a way never done before.

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January/February 2022 Inspectioneering Journal

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January/February 2022 Inspectioneering Journal

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January/February 2022 Inspectioneering Journal

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January/February 2022 Inspectioneering Journal

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November/December 2021 Inspectioneering Journal

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November/December 2021 Inspectioneering Journal

This issue of Damage Control offers a perspective on how to assess the different forms of wet H2S damage using modern FFS and computational analysis techniques with the safe operation of damaged pressure vessels, piping, and associated components.

September/October 2021 Inspectioneering Journal

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September/October 2021 Inspectioneering Journal

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July/August 2021 Inspectioneering Journal

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July/August 2021 Inspectioneering Journal

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May/June 2021 Inspectioneering Journal

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May/June 2021 Inspectioneering Journal

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March/April 2021 Inspectioneering Journal

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March/April 2021 Inspectioneering Journal

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January/February 2021 Inspectioneering Journal

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November/December 2020 Inspectioneering Journal

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September/October 2020 Inspectioneering Journal

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September/October 2020 Inspectioneering Journal

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July/August 2020 Inspectioneering Journal

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May/June 2020 Inspectioneering Journal

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May/June 2020 Inspectioneering Journal

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March/April 2020 Inspectioneering Journal

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March/April 2020 Inspectioneering Journal

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January/February 2020 Inspectioneering Journal

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November/December 2019 Inspectioneering Journal

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November/December 2019 Inspectioneering Journal

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September/October 2019 Inspectioneering Journal

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September/October 2019 Inspectioneering Journal

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July/August 2019 Inspectioneering Journal

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July/August 2019 Inspectioneering Journal

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May/June 2019 Inspectioneering Journal

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May/June 2019 Inspectioneering Journal

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May/June 2019 Inspectioneering Journal

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March/April 2019 Inspectioneering Journal

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January/February 2019 Inspectioneering Journal

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September/October 2018 Inspectioneering Journal

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September/October 2018 Inspectioneering Journal

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July/August 2018 Inspectioneering Journal

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May/June 2018 Inspectioneering Journal

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January/February 2018 Inspectioneering Journal

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January/February 2018 Inspectioneering Journal

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November/December 2017 Inspectioneering Journal

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November/December 2017 Inspectioneering Journal

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September/October 2017 Inspectioneering Journal

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September/October 2017 Inspectioneering Journal

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September/October 2017 Inspectioneering Journal

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July/August 2017 Inspectioneering Journal

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May/June 2017 Inspectioneering Journal

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May/June 2017 Inspectioneering Journal

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January/February 2017 Inspectioneering Journal

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January/February 2017 Inspectioneering Journal

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January/February 2017 Inspectioneering Journal

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November/December 2016 Inspectioneering Journal

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November/December 2016 Inspectioneering Journal

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November/December 2016 Inspectioneering Journal

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May/June 2016 Inspectioneering Journal

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May/June 2016 Inspectioneering Journal

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May/June 2016 Inspectioneering Journal

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March/April 2016 Inspectioneering Journal

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November/December 2015 Inspectioneering Journal

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November/December 2015 Inspectioneering Journal

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November/December 2015 Inspectioneering Journal

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July/August 2015 Inspectioneering Journal

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July/August 2015 Inspectioneering Journal

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January/February 2015 Inspectioneering Journal

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November/December 2014 Inspectioneering Journal

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November/December 2014 Inspectioneering Journal

This article provides background on HTHA, discusses some current developments in HTHA inspection and mitigation, and describes how one refiner is instituting an HTHA risk management plan for its refineries along with challenges they have encountered.

November/December 2014 Inspectioneering Journal

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Authors: Kelsey Hevner
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September/October 2014 Inspectioneering Journal

Maintaining mechanical integrity for aging power boilers can be challenging. This article provides a case study on how mitigating one damage mechanism led to the discovery of another, and how refinery engineers collaborated with industry experts to...

September/October 2014 Inspectioneering Journal

A small leak from top tubesheet-to-tube welds prompted further inspection of the 1¼Cr- ½Mo Ammonia Converter Boiler Feed Water (BFW) Exchanger during a planned shutdown. Further cracks were identified in the top channel to tubesheet butt weld that...

Blog

I've crunched some numbers and have come up with the three most popular damage mechanisms, based on the activity of our readers, that Inspectioneering publishes information on.

Authors: Nick Schmoyer
July/August 2014 Inspectioneering Journal

One of the more common inspection monitoring programs for pressure vessels is to perform thickness measurement at Corrosion Monitoring Locations (CMLs) to allow monitoring of minimum thicknesses and provide estimates for corrosion rates. These...

Authors: A.C. Gysbers
July/August 2014 Inspectioneering Journal

As any refining or petrochemical plant manager knows, corrosion can occur on insulated piping at any facility. CUI has been a major challenge for the petrochemical and refining industries since the first pipelines were insulated with wrappings.

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March/April 2014 Inspectioneering Journal

High temperature sulfidation is probably the most well- known corrosion mechanism in the oil refining industry because it occurs in large sections of the refinery.

January/February 2014 Inspectioneering Journal

The intent of these two articles is to share lessons learned from recent experiences setting up a comprehensive HTHA review process across multiple refineries, and to help other operators define and mitigate the HTHA risk to an acceptable level.

Authors: Mike Urzendowski
January/February 2014 Inspectioneering Journal

This is the second of two articles published in Inspectioneering Journal discussing the value of hydrogen bake-outs. Our first article was published in the May/June 2013 issue and received a great response from the Inspectioneering community. In...

January/February 2014 Inspectioneering Journal

Fired furnaces in the petrochemical and refining industry are critical pieces of equipment that can have a major impact on process unit safety, reliability, and economics. They are complex pieces of equipment, where tubes and other pressure boundary...

Authors: Antonio Seijas
January/February 2014 Inspectioneering Journal

Technicians inspecting oil & gas installations and petrochemical plants employ a wide variety of nondestructive testing (NDT) techniques. A new technology has recently been developed that utilizes a real-time portable imaging device which has...

Partner Content

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Blog

Last week we mentioned three important tips to consider when addressing high temperature hydrogen attack (HTHA). This week, we'd like to provide the reader with a few helpful resources that deal with the topic of HTHA.

Authors: Jeremiah Wooten
November/December 2013 Inspectioneering Journal

Over recent years large strides have been made in application, development, and utilization of Digital Detector Arrays (DDAs) in field radiography environments (an application previously limited to film and computed radiography [CR] techniques).

November/December 2013 Inspectioneering Journal

While there are many types of damage mechanisms that can occur in a piece of equipment, localized metal loss is one of the most common. If an inspection reveals that metal loss has occurred, many questions are raised...

November/December 2013 Inspectioneering Journal

A recent High Temperature Hydrogen Attack (HTHA) failure at a refinery in the state of Washington was a “wake up call” to our industry.

Authors: Mike Urzendowski
November/December 2013 Inspectioneering Journal

Small bore piping is present in many variations throughout numerous industries. This article will address an incident involving a small bore piping failure that occurred on a 140,000 BPD crude distillation unit in the refining industry.

September/October 2013 Inspectioneering Journal

Composite repair systems can be a great option for owner/ operators to extend the life of their assets without disrupting operations.

Authors: Matthew Green
September/October 2013 Inspectioneering Journal

This article is the fifth of a series of articles that will focus on one critical sub process within a PEIP that is key in managing the integrity of process piping; Thickness Monitoring Programs for Internal Corrosion.

Authors: A.C. Gysbers
Blog

In the last issue of Inspectioneering Journal, Marc McConnell at PinnacleAIS submitted an article discussing hydrogen bake-outs. This article was extremely popular among our readers, both of the printed copy of the Journal and our online users.

Authors: Greg Alvarado
Blog

Without doubt management needs to ensure that the appropriate resources (human and budgetary) need to be provided for corrosion control and prevention. The C/M engineer/specialist or other responsible party needs to assure that management is advised...

Authors: John Reynolds
Blog

This week’s post takes up right where last week’s post left off in our discussion on Corrosion Management and Control (CM&C) Management Systems. Here are the last two Corrosion Management and Control Management Systems.

Authors: John Reynolds
Blog

This week’s post takes up right where last week’s post left off in our discussion on Corrosion Management and Control (CM&C) Management Systems.

Authors: John Reynolds
Blog

I will emphasize the systems, work processes and procedures for identifying and controlling the rate and types of deterioration in pressure equipment. These are not in any particular order, as they are meant to operate interdependently.

Authors: John Reynolds
July/August 2013 Inspectioneering Journal

Remote metallography, in-place metallography, in-situ metallography, and field replication are all examples of typical trade names of this great tool used for assessing the condition of a metal component.

Authors: Oscar Quintero
Blog

I have written several articles for Inspectioneering Journal to help create successful programs to achieve excellence in pressure equipment integrity and reliability (PEI&R).

Authors: John Reynolds
May/June 2013 Inspectioneering Journal

With 30 years of refinery experience, I have been through many turnarounds and been involved with a lot of repairs. When I started in the business, we would have inspectors that “owned” their specific pieces of equipment.

March/April 2013 Inspectioneering Journal

Sulfidic corrosion of piping and equipment within the refining industry continues to be a significant cause of leaks and issues that can lead to early replacements, unplanned outages, and incidents potentially resulting in loss of property and...

March/April 2013 Inspectioneering Journal

Over the past few years increased feedstock flexibility has become a growing reality for sustainability of the refining business, requiring processing of more difficult crudes, increased volumes of spot cargoes, and rapid response to crude...

March/April 2013 Inspectioneering Journal

If an operator finds cracking in a furnace waste heat boiler, excessive thinning in an absorption tower, or severe bulging in a converter, FFS assessments—not standard code analyses—are needed to evaluate the unit’s mechanical...

Authors: Greg Garic
September/October 2012 Inspectioneering Journal

Perhaps the most important work process to achieve success in fixed equipment PEI&R is to create Corrosion Control Documents (CCD’s) for each process unit. In this article, I expand upon that work process in order to guide the interested...

Authors: John Reynolds
September/October 2012 Inspectioneering Journal

On August 6, 2012, a piping failure occurred in the #4 Crude Unit at the Chevron U.S.A. Inc. refinery in Richmond, CA. Chevron U.S.A. would like to share some potentially significant preliminary information regarding the incident.

July/August 2012 Inspectioneering Journal

We have recently learned of one organized joint industry project (JIP) that was announced at the Spring 2012 API Refining meeting. As information has become available we have decided to present it to our readership.

May/June 2012 Inspectioneering Journal

Electroless nickel (ENC) is a family of coatings based on nickel-phosphorous metallic compounds. ENC was developed in 1943 by Abner Brenner, an electrochemist at the U.S. Bureau of Standards. While working on the electroplating of nickel onto...

March/April 2012 Inspectioneering Journal

What I am primarily concerned with, in this article, is erosion corrosion control. Now, what is erosion corrosion? Well, no matter how you might look at it, erosion corrosion involves the degradation of the material by some mechanical action, in...

September/October 2011 Inspectioneering Journal

The morning meeting at the plant was a tough one for you. As an area engineer you are not satisfied with the information you are receiving from your team's investigation into a major compressor wreck that has happened once again. The conclusion...

September/October 2011 Inspectioneering Journal

Deterioration of concrete structures has plagued petrochemical production facilities. As a result of sulfur compound exposure, concrete corrodes and weakens continuously over time. The proper operation of the structure deteriorates with it until...

May/June 2011 Inspectioneering Journal

Putting off the initial inspection (i.e. baseline) of piping and vessels in a new process unit is both common and problematic. The tendency of owners is to rely on the nominal thickness because the actual original thickness was either not measured...

January/February 2011 Inspectioneering Journal

Describes a non-destructive sampling procedure which records and preserves the topography of a metallographic specimen as a negative relief on a plastic film (replica).

Authors: Leo Vega
November/December 2010 Inspectioneering Journal

On April 6, 2010, a tragic accident occurred at the Tesoro Refinery in Anacortes, WA, in the Naphtha Hydrotreater process unit (NHT). During routine operations involving an on-line switching of unit heat exchanger feed trains, seven employees were...

November/December 2010 Inspectioneering Journal

High Temperature Hydrogen Attack (HTHA) is a long known and still occurring degradation issue for fixed equipment construction materials in the hydrocarbon process industry where hydroprocess plants (hydrogen plus hydrocarbons) are in service....

Authors: John Reynolds
November/December 2010 Inspectioneering Journal

The following references are from the American Petroleum Institute. They are widely used in the petroleum refining and petrochemical industries for managing equipment in HTHA service and are available in the public domain.

July/August 2010 Inspectioneering Journal

CUI (Corrosion Under Insulation) has always been a challenge for plant operators, quality assurance/reliability engineers and equipment owners. It is hard to identify the problem until it has become an emergency situation, often leading to unit shut...

Authors: Santhosh Lukose
May/June 2010 Inspectioneering Journal

Clearly, corrosion prevention and control has a major role in achieving excellence in Pressure Equipment Integrity and Reliability (PEI&R). But there is a lot more to PEI&R than just corrosion control. This article will show how corrosion control...

Authors: John Reynolds
July/August 2009 Inspectioneering Journal

In the current economic environment, there is increasing pressure on petrochemical refineries and delivery systems to be more productive and to minimize unscheduled shutdowns due to leakage. Leakage can occur from either the piping itself or the...

Authors: Willis Perry
July/August 2008 Inspectioneering Journal

The following is an interview with Scot Haines, (Corrosion Engineering Advisor). The IJ wishes to thank Scot and the Hess Corporation for taking the time to share with the "IJ" community.

Authors: Greg Alvarado
November/December 2007 Inspectioneering Journal

Because of widespread interest in the proposed revision in progress to NACE International standard SP0169 (formerly RP0169), "Control of External Corrosion on Underground or Submerged Metallic Piping Systems," NACE is sponsoring an...

May/June 2007 Inspectioneering Journal

The American Petroleum Institute (API) is issuing this publication's announcement to inform companies involved in the distribution, transportation, storage, and blending of denatured fuel ethanol of a potential for metal cracking and product leakage...

January/February 2007 Inspectioneering Journal

NACE International has approved two highly anticipated standards dedicated to the control of internal pipeline corrosion.

September/October 2006 Inspectioneering Journal

Active corrosion in onshore and offshore pipelines is an increasing problem. Consequently, pipeline operators regularly use intelligent inspection pigs to detect and size corrosion. Inspection data can be combined with probability based...

Authors: F Egan, D G Jones, J Healy
May/June 2006 Inspectioneering Journal

As noted in the discussion on delayed cracking, when the steel contains hydrogen as a result of service exposure (or corrosion, or high temperature - high pressure hydrogen processing) then a hydrogen bake out may be needed to avoid cracking...

Authors: John Reynolds
November/December 2005 Inspectioneering Journal

A few years ago, TWI investigated a corrosion failure in a 30 inch crude oil pipeline that regrettably led to an explosion and fire, and the death of several operating personnel. The pipeline was designed to ASME B31.4 and the investigation found...

September/October 2005 Inspectioneering Journal

Temper embrittlement is another form of metallurgical degradation resulting from exposure of susceptible low alloy steels to higher temperature ranges, usually in service, but can occur to some extent even during heat treatment. And, once again, if...

Authors: John Reynolds
September/October 2005 Inspectioneering Journal

Strain-aging problems are another form of metallurgical degradation and thankfully are not very common and becoming less so; but since strain-aging does still occasionally occur, it still makes the list of one of the “99 diseases of pressure...

Authors: John Reynolds
September/October 2005 Inspectioneering Journal

Another form of metallurgical degradation at higher temperatures is called sigma phase embrittlement. As the name implies, a metallurgical phase change occurs in some stainless steels when they are heated above about 1000F (540C).

Authors: John Reynolds
September/October 2005 Inspectioneering Journal

Metals will slowly deform under stress and higher temperatures by the mechanism known as creep. The amount of creep deformation that will be experienced is highly dependent upon the level of stress, level of temperature and material properties....

Authors: John Reynolds
September/October 2005 Inspectioneering Journal

Spheroidization is a rather technical term that describes a metallurgical aging phenomena that results in loss of mechanical and creep strength. It occurs when carbon and low alloy steels are exposed to temperatures in the range of 850F - 1400F...

Authors: John Reynolds
July/August 2005 Inspectioneering Journal

Aging phenolic resin reactors built in the 1960's were constructed of SA304 stainless steel, many of which were originally fabricated to ASME Section VIII standards were never registered as such nor with the National Board. Some of these reactors...

Authors: Mark Bagnell
May/June 2005 Inspectioneering Journal

Carbon dioxide (CO2) corrosion is most typically found in boiler condensate return systems that are not adequately treated with corrosion inhibitors (typically amines). Dissolved CO2 in condensate forms carbonic acid (H2CO3) which corrodes steels...

Authors: John Reynolds
May/June 2005 Inspectioneering Journal

Boiler feed water (BFW) corrosion is mostly the result of dissolved oxygen in the feed water, but is also related to the quality of the BFW and the quality of the treatment system.

Authors: John Reynolds
May/June 2005 Inspectioneering Journal

Cooling water (CW) corrosion may be the oldest form of corrosion in the petrochemical industry, yet the industry still struggles with it for two primary reasons.

Authors: John Reynolds
May/June 2005 Inspectioneering Journal

MIC is caused by biological growth, i.e. organic slime (typically bacteria, algae, and fungi) in water under low flow or stagnant conditions. The industry experiences it in cooling water systems, piping, vessels and storage tank bottoms where the...

Authors: John Reynolds
May/June 2005 Inspectioneering Journal

Most all flue gases produced by the combustion of fuels contain contaminants that can condense into acid droplets. The amount of contaminants will determine the concentration of the acid droplets.

Authors: John Reynolds
January/February 2005 Inspectioneering Journal

HTHA falls into multiple categories of corrosion mechanisms, including environmentally assisted cracking, hydrogen assisted cracking, and high temperature degradation. Sometimes HTHA is confused with low temperature hydrogen cracking mechanisms...

Authors: John Reynolds
January/February 2005 Inspectioneering Journal

Corrosion fatigue is closely related to mechanical and vibration fatigue cracking, except that it is initiated and accelerated by a corrosion mechanism, especially one that gives rise to pitting, from which cracks often initiate. But that...

Authors: John Reynolds
November/December 2004 Inspectioneering Journal

Accounts with shop validation on carbon steel samples prior to field trials, on an in-service C 1/2 Mo vessel, were reported at a recent industry conference. The studies were successful in the laboratory and appear to make sense in field trials on a...

November/December 2004 Inspectioneering Journal

Several new API inspection recommended practices exist in which inspectors need to be knowledgeable and qualified. This article details some of those standards.

September/October 2004 Inspectioneering Journal

Corrosion from HCl is a significant problem in many refining and chemical process units, and often the materials solution to HCl corrosion is rather expensive, since the lower cost, more available alloys are usually not resistant to most...

Authors: John Reynolds
September/October 2004 Inspectioneering Journal

Corrosion in the refining industry from HFA is not as widespread a problem as it is with HCl because it is only associated with HF Alkylation Units, which are usually fairly carefully controlled in order to avoid potential for a toxic HFA cloud...

Authors: John Reynolds
September/October 2004 Inspectioneering Journal

Problems with naphthenic acid corrosion (NAC) are nearly as old as the refining industry. The first paper on the topic that I knew about was written by one of my early industry supervisors over 40 years ago.

Authors: John Reynolds
September/October 2004 Inspectioneering Journal

Unlike NAC where we’re still on a learning curve, the knowledge of corrosion by sulfuric acid has not changed much in the last quarter century, and there are many good references for it included in API RP 571.

Authors: John Reynolds
September/October 2004 Inspectioneering Journal

Corrosion from phosphoric acid is another “old knowledge” corrosion issue that effects only a few processes in the chemical and hydrocarbon process industry.

Authors: John Reynolds
July/August 2004 Inspectioneering Journal

Catastrophic oxidation can occur when certain contaminants are present in a high temperature environment, i.e. inside furnace fireboxes, in our industry. Those contaminants are typically vanadium pentoxide with sulfur oxide or sodium sulfate.

July/August 2004 Inspectioneering Journal

High temperature oxidation is not a real common type of failure in our industry, but it can and does happen when temperatures exceed design maximums. All metals oxidize, even at room temperature, and in many cases that slow oxidation process...

Authors: John Reynolds
July/August 2004 Inspectioneering Journal

The following is the final part of a 2-part series outlining the relationship between key operating parameters and corrosion that has been used to develop a set of guidelines to define an operating envelope.

July/August 2004 Inspectioneering Journal

High temperature sulfidation is probably the most common high temperature corrosion nemesis in the refining industry, since there are very few “sweet” refineries still in operation. Sulfidation corrosion typically is of concern in sour oil...

Authors: John Reynolds
July/August 2004 Inspectioneering Journal

Though oxidation and sulfidation are quite prevalent high temperature corrosion mechanisms in many of our process units, we now come to a few that are not very common, but still deserve some attention to make sure they don’t lead to...

Authors: John Reynolds
July/August 2004 Inspectioneering Journal

Decarburization is the antithesis of carburization and rarely results in equipment failure. However, surface decarburization is often a sign that something more serious is going on, ie high temperature hydrogen attack (HTHA), which is well covered...

Authors: John Reynolds
July/August 2004 Inspectioneering Journal

Metal dusting is simply a severe form or extension of carburization in which the extensive carbides that form as a result of carburization lead to grains of metal falling out of the tube or piping and being swept away by the process...

Authors: John Reynolds
May/June 2004 Inspectioneering Journal

Corrosion and fouling in HF Alkylation Units are closely linked to feed quality and operating conditions. This article outlines the relationship between key operating parameters and corrosion that has been used to develop a set of guidelines to...

May/June 2004 Inspectioneering Journal

Chloride cracking of austenitic stainless steels (300 series SS) is an off-shoot of CUI, and there’s nothing really magical about it. If you have insulated solid stainless steel equipment operating in the CUI temperature range you are likely to...

Authors: John Reynolds
May/June 2004 Inspectioneering Journal

For purposes of this article, external (atmospheric) corrosion is what afflicts process equipment and structural members that are not insulated and exposed to moisture associated with atmospheric conditions, ie rain, condensation from humidity,...

Authors: John Reynolds
May/June 2004 Inspectioneering Journal

Soil corrosion (underground corrosion) is another one of those extensively researched and documented types of corrosion, since so many pipes and pipelines are buried and nearly all storage tanks rest on the soil. An entire industry/ technology is...

Authors: John Reynolds
May/June 2004 Inspectioneering Journal

CUI may be the most well known and widespread corrosion phenomena in our industry. It’s also one of the most difficult to prevent because by and large no matter what precautions we take, water eventually gets into the insulation and begins...

Authors: John Reynolds
January/February 2004 Inspectioneering Journal

Repair welds can be another undetected and insidious "fabrication defect" that eventually results in equipment failure. Any experienced metallurgist that has completed numerous failure analyses over the years will tell you that periodically they see...

Authors: John Reynolds
January/February 2004 Inspectioneering Journal

Speaking of stress raisers, they are another insidious type of flaw that can and do lead to equipment failures. Stress raisers (aka stress intensification sites) can be mechanical or metallurgical notches. Undercutting, physical weld flaws,...

Authors: John Reynolds
January/February 2004 Inspectioneering Journal

When we specify that some equipment (vessels, flanges, fittings, etc.) be overlaid with a corrosion resistant alloy, we need to pay attention to making sure that the chemistry of the top layer of alloy welding, that will be exposed directly to...

January/February 2004 Inspectioneering Journal

When we specify that some equipment (vessels, flanges, fittings, etc.) be overlaid with a corrosion resistant alloy, we need to pay attention to making sure that the chemistry of the top layer of alloy welding, that will be exposed directly to...

January/February 2004 Inspectioneering Journal

DMW cracking is another fabrication issue that can and does result in equipment failure. It usually occurs at the weld juncture where carbon steel or low alloy steels are welded to austenitic (300 series) stainless steels in high temperature...

November/December 2003 Inspectioneering Journal

Liquid Metal Cracking (LMC) (aka "liquid metal embrittlement") is another insidious form of cracking that strikes when you least expect it. It most commonly afflicts austenitic stainless steels, but can afflict other copper, nickel and aluminum...

Authors: John Reynolds
November/December 2003 Inspectioneering Journal

Carbonate cracking (CC) of carbon steel has seen an increase recently in frequency and severity in some refinery cat crackers, especially in fractionator and gas processing overheads. Some gas scrubbing units are also susceptible. CC is a form of...

Authors: John Reynolds
November/December 2003 Inspectioneering Journal

Chloride stress corrosion cracking (SCC) is about as well known as any SCC mechanism can be, so I won't dwell much on it here, but want to mention it for the sake of completeness and hopefully mention something that is not as commonly known about...

Authors: John Reynolds
July/August 2003 Inspectioneering Journal

Cavitation is the sudden formation and immediate collapse of vapor or air bubbles in a liquid stream when system pressure falls below the vapor pressure of the liquid. The sudden collapse of these tiny bubbles generates enormous, though tiny forces...

Authors: John Reynolds
July/August 2003 Inspectioneering Journal

Few of us have not experienced or heard about vibration fatigue (cracking) failures, especially around pumps and compressors. Typically small branch connections, equalizer lines, vents and drains are susceptible, especially if they are screwed...

Authors: John Reynolds
July/August 2003 Inspectioneering Journal

Graphitization is not something that operators can do much about, and thankfully it is not very common. We as engineers and inspectors have to know about this one and prevent it or detect it. It occurs when the microstructure of some carbon and...

Authors: John Reynolds
July/August 2003 Inspectioneering Journal

This is the name given to a form of embrittlement that occurs in 400 series of stainless steels, duplex SS's and less commonly in some 300 series stainless steels containing a metallurgical phase called ferrite. The embrittlement occurs from 600...

Authors: John Reynolds
March/April 2003 Inspectioneering Journal

During the past two years, a new High Resolution Gamma Ray Detector Array System to detect and measure small corrosion pits in real-time in the inservice piping in process industries, has been in development. This High Resolution Gamma Ray...

July/August 2003 Inspectioneering Journal

This failure mechanism is unfortunately all too common in our industry. It's also known as stress rupture, and it is usually entirely preventable by proper maintenance and operating procedures. It occurs when equipment, piping or furnace tubes...

Authors: John Reynolds
January/February 2003 Inspectioneering Journal

Now you say, he's got to be putting me on. What is green rot? I didn't invent it. I first read about it in one of the early texts on corrosion engineering by Ughlig or Fontana, the venerable corrosion professors at MIT & Ohio State. But when I...

Authors: John Reynolds
January/February 2003 Inspectioneering Journal

I already mentioned this common affliction in the introduction. Caustic cracking was long called caustic embrittlement, but since no embrittlement actually occurs that name is fading away.

Authors: John Reynolds
September/October 2002 Inspectioneering Journal

John has primary responsibility for NDE consulting and troubleshooting for BP around the world in the refining, chemical and gas processing industries. We at the IJ thought it might be valuable to spend some time chatting about his background,...

Authors: Greg Alvarado
July/August 2002 Inspectioneering Journal

One of the most important steps involved with regard to tank inspection, using API Standard 653, is establishing the internal inspection interval. API 653 says, "Section 6.4.1.1 Internal inspection is primarily required to: a. Ensure that the bottom...

Authors: Philip Myers
May/June 2000 Inspectioneering Journal

This is the first of a series of articles that outlines the 101 essential elements that need to be in place, and functioning well, to preserve and protect the reliability and integrity of pressure equipment (vessels, exchangers, furnaces, boilers,...

Authors: John Reynolds
September/October 1999 Inspectioneering Journal

This paper describes the use of a UT fixture for detection of stress corrosion cracking in ferrous heat exchanger tube-to-tubesheet welds and external tube corrosion or pitting near the tubesheets including crevice OD corrosion.

Authors: Reggie Cross
January/February 1999 Inspectioneering Journal

One of the greatest challenges facing many of refining, fossil power, and pulp and paper industries is: How to effectively examine their insulated piping?

May/June 1998 Inspectioneering Journal

New inspection technology, when added to the proven practice of using tell tale holes (TTHs), proves effective in reducing significant releases and or catastrophic events that are related to internal corrosion / erosion of process piping. In fact,...

Authors: Mike Badeen
September/October 1997 Inspectioneering Journal

This is the fourth in a series of articles on piping inspection that I'm writing for the Journal. One of the previous ones dealt with improving thickness data taking accuracy with digital ultrasonic methods. This article is a "sister article" that...

Authors: John Reynolds
November/December 1996 Inspectioneering Journal

Corrosion under insulation (CUI) is a real threat to the onstream reliability of many of today's plants. This type of corrosion can cause failures in areas that are not normally of a primary concern to an inspection program.

Authors: Michael Twomey
September/October 1996 Inspectioneering Journal

This article is a practical review of Nondestructive Examination (NDE) methods that can be used to find Erosion/Corrosion (E/C) and/or Corrosion wear in fossil fuel power piping systems. The article is based on experience with PG&E's E/C detection...

Authors: Joseph M. Mazzeo
July/August 1996 Inspectioneering Journal

Engineers and scientists at Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) in San Antonio, Texas, may have found a cost-effective and practical method of detecting ID and OD corrosion of insulated piping systems.

November/December 1995 Inspectioneering Journal

Nelson Curve changes in the late 1980's provided cause for Shell Oil Company to look at more reliable NDE non-destructive evaluation methods for assessment of materials/equipment in high temperature hydrogen service. The primary change motivating...

September/October 1995 Inspectioneering Journal

In May 1995, Omega International Technology, Inc., began testing a new system to measure pipe wall thicknesses using digital radiography (RT) scanning. This new system has the potential for being faster, less labor intensive, and shown improved...

September/October 1995 Inspectioneering Journal

If it's glass-lined, chances are the environment is very corrosive to most metallics. In general, once the glass lining is breached, through-wall corrosion doesn't take very long. An effective maintenance, operation and inspection program will go...

Authors: Greg Alvarado
September/October 1995 Inspectioneering Journal

Low-energy piping system failures in power-generating facilities are often the result of fouling and corrosion. These degradation mechanisms can affect the capacity of piping for fluid-carrying, the heat transfer rates of heat exchangers, and the...

July/August 1995 Inspectioneering Journal

Eight years ago PG&E began a program for its fossil plants for early detection, repair and prevention of Erosion/Corrosion (E/C) failure mechanisms. Since its inception, hundreds of worn piping components have been detected and repaired before...

Authors: Joseph M. Mazzeo
May/June 1995 Inspectioneering Journal

Corrosion is one of those "equal opportunity" hazards that affects all industries indiscriminately, to the tune of billions of dollars annually in repair and replacement costs. Some types of corrosion are readily apparent, such as rusting of...

Authors: Greg Kobrin
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            Asset Intelligence Report

            This Asset Intelligence Report on Sulfidation Corrosion serves as a primer to increase your familiarity with one of the most well-known corrosion mechanisms in the oil refining industry.

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