Abstract
Many failures in copper pipes used for cold water transportation result from type 1 pitting. This occurs when tubes containing a deleterious film from the manufacturing process are exposed in an aggressive water. Present tests to detect the presence of deleterious films are unsatisfactory and a possible alternative rapid test method has been studied. The technique involves collection and analysis of the electrochemical current noise signals emitted by the copper tube during corrosion. Tubes with different amounts of carbon contamination, produced at BNF and deliberately engineered by industry, have been studied using an electrochemical current noise technique. After only 20 h on test, the standard deviation and coefficient of variation of electrochemical noise signals clearly distinguished between grit blasted tube and contaminated tube. A longer, 30 h, test was needed to separate those that were borderline but satisfactory from those that were bordeline/unsatisfactory.
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