An Electrochemical Method to Predict Corrosion Rates in Soils

Linear polarization resistance (LPR) testing of soils has been used extensively by a number of water utilities across Australia for many years now to determine the condition of buried ferrous water mains. The LPR test itself is a relatively simple, inexpensive test that serves as a substitute for actual exhumation and physical inspection of buried water mains to determine corrosion losses. LPR testing results (and the corresponding pit depth estimates) in combination with proprietary pipe failure algorithms can provideauseful predictive tool in determiningthe current and future conditions of an asset. Anumber of LPR tests have been developed on soil by various researchers over the years1), but few have gained widespread commercial use, partly due to the difficulty in replicating the results. This author developed an electrochemical cell that was suitable for LPR soil testing and utilized this cell to test a series of soil samples obtained through an extensive program of field exhumations. The objective of this testing was to examine the relationship between short-term electrochemical testing and long-term in-situ corrosion of buried water mains, utilizing an LPR test that could be robustly replicated. Forty-one soil samples and related corrosion data were obtained from ad hoc condition assessments of buried water mains located throughout the Hunter region of New South Wales, Australia. Each sample was subjected to the electrochemical test developed by the author, and the resulting polarization data were compared with long-term pitting data obtained from each water main. The results of this testing program enabled the author to undertake a comprehensive review of the LPR technique as it is applied to soils and to examine whether correlations can be made between LPR testing results and long-term field corrosion.