Measurement and Inspection for Corrosion Control

Corrosion control involves the monitoring and measurement of equipment components, structures, process units, and facilities for effectiveness of corrosion prevention methods employed and early signs of corrosion.

Measurement includes various techniques to determine how corrosive the environment is and at what rate metal loss is being experienced. Typically, corrosion measurement will incorporate the elements provided by the four combinations of on-line/offline, direct/indirect measurements.

Critical to monitoring is the regular inspection of an asset’s protective coatings and/or linings. Coating inspections check assets or equipment to ensure protective coatings were correctly applied – a quality assurance measure – that will ultimately help to minimize future corrosion risk. Inspections also help to reveal any existing corrosion, which will lead to a recommendation that the corroded areas be repaired or monitored. Coating inspections result in billions of dollars in cost savings from corrosion as coatings are the first defense against materials degradation.