Testing and monitoring

This chapter discusses the ways of corrosion testing and monitoring. Corrosion monitoring originates from plant inspection techniques and from the techniques that have been developed for corrosion testing. Although it employs complex apparatus and equipment, this is not necessarily the case. The simplest of all corrosion tests, that is, placing alloy coupons in the atmosphere to determine their corrosion loss over a given period of time, is a valid method of monitoring the performance of a structure, provided that it gives real data that is relevant to the structure. The value of a particular method of testing or monitoring is determined by the validity of the method in producing the required data. The different types of corrosion tests can be grouped as: laboratory tests, field tests, and service tests. The selection of suitable techniques is based on a number of factors, such as, costs and actual requirements. Corrosion monitoring is a useful method of checking the course of corrosion, but it is not a replacement for inspection and common-sense.