• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• 제16권5호
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• pp.265-272
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• 2017

Inhibition of pitting corrosion of the copper sprinkler tubes by removing dissolved oxygen in water with sodium sulfite was studied on the wet sprinkler systems operated in 258 household sites. First, air in the sprinkler tubing was removed by vacuum pumping. The tube was then filled with sodium sulfite dissolved in water. Sodium sulfite was very effective in maintaining a very low dissolved oxygen concentration in water in the sprinkler tube for the observation period of six months. Water leakage from the copper sprinkler tube was reduced significantly by using sodium sulfite. Both pitting corrosion process and pitting corrosion inhibition mechanism were investigated by examining microscopical and structural aspects of corrosion pits formed in failed copper sprinkler tube. Pitting corrosion was caused by pressurized air as well as sediments such as sand particles in copper tubes through oxygen concentration cells. It was confirmed microscopically that growth of corrosion pits was stopped by reducing dissolved oxygen concentration to a very level by using sodium sulfite.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• 제13권1호
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• pp.6-14
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• 2014

Copper metal is widely used in tubes installed in sprinkler water services because of its excellent corrosion resistance. Copper corrosion is considered to be insignificant in water system and the incident of copper pipeline failure is relatively low. However, pitting corrosion is a major problem with all copper tubes. In this study, leaked sprinkler copper tubes were collected from three different locations and examined on the causes of pitting corrosion of copper tubes in sprinkler water plumbing systems. Electrochemical tests such as potentiodynamic polarization, as well as surface and chemical analyses were performed. Results show that pitting corrosion of copper tubes were found as Type I pitting that the carbon film formed on the copper tubes have a harmful effects, causing the pinhole failure in the pipe and resulting in leakage of water. The contermeasures on Type I pitting corrosion of copper tubes were proposed.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• 제19권2호
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• pp.89-99
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• 2020

The inhibition of pitting corrosion failure of copper sprinkler tubes in wet sprinkler systems was studied. First, an apparatus and technology for removing air in the sprinkler tubes by vacuum pumping and then filling the tubes with water were developed. Using this apparatus and technology, three methods for inhibiting the pitting corrosion of the copper sprinkler tubes installed in several apartment complexes were tested. The first one was filling the sprinkler tubes with water bubbled by high-pressure nitrogen gas to reduce the dissolved oxygen concentration to lower than 2 ppm. In the second method, the dissolved oxygen concentration of water was further reduced to lower than 0.01 ppm by sodium sulfite. In the third method, the sprinkler tubes were filled with benzotriazole (BTAH) dissolved in water. The third method was the most effective, reducing the failure frequency of the sprinkler tubes due to pitting corrosion by more than 80%. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analyses confirmed that a Cu-BTA layer was well coated on the inside surface of the corrosion pit, protecting it from corrosion. A potentiodynamic polarization test showed that BTAH should be very effective in reducing the corrosion rate of copper in the acidic environment of the corrosion pit.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• 제16권5호
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• pp.247-256
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• 2017

The feasibility of using hydrazine for inhibiting pitting corrosion in copper sprinkler tubes was investigated by examining microscopical and structural evolution of corrosion by-products with SEM, EDS, and XRD. Hydrazine removed dissolved oxygen and reduced CuO and $Cu_2O$ as well. The stable phase was changed from CuO to $Cu_2O$ or Cu depending on hydrazine concentration. Hydrazine concentration of 500 ppm could convert all CuO corrosion by-products to $Cu_2O$. In a tightly sealed acryl tube filled with aqueous solution of 500 ppm hydrazine, octahedral $Cu_2O$ particles were formed while plate-like structures with high concentration of Cu, O, N and C were formed near a corrosion pit. The inside structure of a corrosion pit was not altered by hydrazine aqueous solution. Uniform corrosion of copper was almost completely stopped in aqueous solution of 500 ppm hydrazine. Corrosion potential of a copper plate was linearly dependent on log (hydrazine concentration). The concept of stopping pitting corrosion reaction by suppressing oxygen reduction reaction could be verified by applying this method to a reasonable number of real sprinkler systems before full-scale application.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• 제22권3호
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• pp.137-152
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• 2023

Polarization behavior and corrosion inhibition of copper in acidic chloride solutions containing benzotriazole were studied. Pourbaix diagrams constructed for copper in NaCl solutions with different BTAH concentrations were used to understand the polarization behavior. Open circuit potential (OCP) depended not only on chloride concentration, but also on whether a CuBTA layer was formed on the copper surface. Only when the (pH, OCP) was located well in the CuBTA region of the Pourbaix diagram, a stable corrosion inhibiting CuBTA layer was formed, which was confirmed by X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) and a long-term corrosion test. The OCP for the CuBTA layer decreased logarithmically with increasing [Cl^-] activity in the solution. A minimum BTAH concentration required to form a CuBTA layer for a given NaCl concentration and pH were determined from the Pourbaix diagram. It was found that 320 ppm BTAH solution could be used to form a corrosion-inhibiting CuBTA layer inside the corrosion pit in the sprinkler copper tube, successfully reducing water leakage rate of copper tubes. These experimental results could be used to estimate water chemistry inside a corrosion pit.