A new standards guide from ASTM International (West Conshohocken, Pennsylvania) aims to help the petroleum, chemical, and water industries better monitor the corrosion of equipment.
The new standard was developed by ASTM’s committee on corrosion of metals (
G01). It will be officially published as G217, Guide for Corrosion Monitoring for Field Structures and Plant Equipment and for Electrochemical Studies with Coupled Multielectrode Methods.
The standard outlines ways to monitor corrosion in laboratories and plants using a new technology called the coupled multielectrode array sensor (CMAS) method.
According to ASTM member Lietai Yang of Corr Instruments, the CMAS method measures non-uniform, localized corrosion. To this point, ASTM says there has not been a real-time and quantitative method available.
“Localized corrosion is the most detrimental form of corrosion for plant equipment in industries related to oil and gas, chemical processing, and water treatment and distribution,” says Yang. “The standard provides guidance on how to use CMAS to monitor corrosion damage to metallic equipment in real time, so that effective remedies can immediately be taken to extend the life of the equipment.”
Operators of metal equipment such as pipes and vessels will benefit most from the guide, which can also be used to monitor structures with metal components. The structures include bridges, buildings, and power transmission lines, according to the group.
In addition, regulatory bodies might find the new standard helpful to help ensure the safe operation of equipment, ASTM says. Laboratory researchers could also use the standard to study corrosion behavior in their efforts to mitigate corrosion in simulated environments.