The present paper reviews what is known about conditions which give rise to hot spot corrosion in copper alloy heat exchanger tubes. The view is advanced that hot spot corrosion can be subdivided into three slightly different types, occurring at different temperatures and with different chemicals present in the water. The relative resistance of the commonly used copper alloys to all three types of hot spot corrosion is reviewed. Finally, methods of preventing hot spot corrosion are covered, based largely on practical experience.
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