Nuclear Power – Corrosion Monitoring

Stress corrosion cracking
Stress corrosion cracking is a significant issue for nuclear power plants. Current testing methods commonly use coupons. This type of test involves taking a piece of affected or suspect material, and sending it to a laboratory for analysis. It may take several months to locate and identify localized stress corrosion cracking using the coupon method. CorrTran MV corrosion monitoring devices provide a corrosion rate which is comparable to coupon analysis, but provides it as a process control variable.

Corrosion activity build-up
Metal pipes, tubes, valves and other components housed in a nuclear power plant can be dramatically affected by corrosion. Typically, the metal develops a protective coating that is under constant attack by chemical fluctuations in the nuclear power process. Over time, the protective coating is eroded. Localized pitting and structural weaknesses occur. If these are not detected, catastrophic failure may result. CorrTran MV corrosion transmitters monitor online and real time corrosion rates, and effectively measure localized pitting and corrosion, thus protecting the nuclear power plant.