• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.315-323
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• 2024

This work examined pitting corrosion failure of a copper heat-return pipe used in a district heating system. The copper pipe was corroded with a 48% reduction in thickness due to localized corrosion on the inner surface exposed to heating water of 20 ~ 40 ℃. Fe and Si elements as corrosion products were found around pits. Cl element was also observed, which accelerated oxidation of copper inside pits. Cu₂O deposits on the pit's bottom surface decreased the pH inside the pit. X-ray diffraction analysis revealed hematite, cuprite, malachite and brochantite as corrosion products. Chemical analysis demonstrated that Fe and Si elements did not exist in the copper, supply water, or heating water, indicating that Fe and Si species might have entered into the pipe from the exterior. These results indicated that pits were initiated due to ion concentration gradient near Fe and Si species. Moreover, the interior of pits had lower pH due to Cl^- concentration and Cu₂O reactions, which accelerated the pit's growth and led to formation of pinholes. Additionally, we confirmed that the type of pitting corrosion was a complex combination of types I and II based on the HCO₃^-/SO₄^2- ratio, pH, temperature, and corrosion products.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.203-210
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• 2002

In order to elucidate the growth mechanism of sulfide chimney formed as a result of seafloor hydrothermal mineralization, we carried out the mineralogical and fluid inclusion studies on the inactive, sulfide- and silica-rich chimney which has been recovered from a hydrothermal field in the Cleft segment of the Juan de Fuca Ridge. According to previous studies, many active and inactive vents are present in the Cleft segment. The sulfide- and silica-rich chimney is composed of amorphous silica, pyrite, sphalerite and wurtzite with minor amounts of chalcopyrite and marcasite. The interior part of the chimney is highly porous and represents a flow channel. Open spaces within chimneys are typically coated with colloform layers of amorphous silica. The FeS content of Zn-sulfides varies widely from 13.9 to 34.3 mole% with Fe-rich core and Fe-poor rims. This variation possibly reflects the change of physicochemical characteristics of hydrothermal fluids. Chemical and mineralogical compositions of the each growth zone are also varied, possibly due to a thermal gradient. Based on the microthermometric measurements of liquid-rich, two-phase inclusions in amorphous silica that was precipitated in the late stage of mineralization, minimum trapping temperatures are estimated to be about 1140 to 145$^{\circ}$C with the salinities between 3.2 and 4.8 wt.% NaCI equiv. Although the actual fluid temperatures of the vent are not available, this study suggests that the lowtemperature conditions were predominant during the mineralization in the hydrothermal field at Cleft segment. Comparing with the previously reported chimney types, the morphology, colloform texture, bulk chemistry, and a characteristic mineral assemblage (pyrite + marcasite + wurtzite + amorphous silica) of this chimney indicate that the chimney have been formed from a relatively low-temperature (<250$^{\circ}$C) hydrothermal fluid that was changed by sluggish fluid flow and conductive cooling.