• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.19 no.6
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• pp.310-317
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• 2020

This study investigated the damage to the specimen due to liquid droplet impingement erosion corrosion, which improved the corrosion resistance and durability via hard anodization of 5083-H321 aluminum alloy, which is widely used for small ships and marine structures. The experiment combined liquid droplet impingement erosion and electrochemical equipment with the flow rates in natural seawater solution. Subsequently, Tafel extrapolation of polarization curves was performed to evaluate damage due to the liquid droplet impingement erosion corrosion. The damaged surface was observed using a 3D microscope and a scanning electron microscope. The degree of pitting damage was measured using the Image J program, and the surface hardness was measured using the micro-Vickers hardness tester. The corrosion current density, area, depth, and ratio of the damaged areas increased with the increase in flow rate. The grain size of the damaged area at a flow rate of 20 m s-1 showed fewer and minor differences in height, and a smooth curved shape. The hardness of the damaged surface tended to decrease with increase in flow rate.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.179-184
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• 2013

Pipe wall thinning caused by erosion and corrosion can adversely affect the operation of aged nuclear power plants. Some injured workers owing to pipe rupture has been reported and power reduction caused by unexpected pipe damage has been occurred consistently. Therefore, it is important to develop erosion-corrosion damage prediction model and investigate its mechanisms. Especially, liquid droplet impingement erosion(LDIE) is regarded as the main issue of pipe wall thinning management. To investigate LDIE mechanism with corrosion environment, we developed erosion-corrosion damage simulation apparatus and its capability has been verified through the preliminary damage experiment of 6061-Al alloy. The apparatus design has been based on ASTM standard test method, G73-10, that use high-speed rotator and enable to simulate water hammering and droplet impingement. The preliminary test results showed mass loss of 3.2% in conditions of peripheral speed of 110m/s, droplet size of 1mm-diameter, and accumulated time of 3 hours. In this study, the apparatus design revealed feasibility of LDIE damage simulation and provided possibility of accelerated erosion-corrosion damage test by controlling water chemistry.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.12 no.5
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• pp.227-232
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• 2013

A number of components installed in the secondary system of nuclear power plants are exposed to aging mechanisms such as FAC (Flow-Accelerated Corrosion), Cavitation, Flashing, and LDIE (Liquid Droplet Impingement Erosion). Those aging mechanisms can lead to thinning of the components. In April 2013, one (1) inch small bore piping branched from the main steam line experienced leakage resulting from wall thinning in a 1,000 MWe Korean PWR nuclear power plant. During the normal operation, extracted steam from the main steam line goes to condenser through the small bore piping. The leak occurred in the downstream of an orifice. A control valve with vertical flow path was placed on in front of the orifice. This paper deals with UT (Ultrasonic Test) thickness data, SEM images, and numerical simulation results in order to analyze the extent of damage and the cause of leakage in the small bore piping. As a result, it is concluded that the main cause of the small bore pipe wall thinning is liquid droplet impingement erosion. Moreover, it is observed that the leak occurred at the reattachment point of the vortex flow in the downstream side of the orifice.

• Journal of ILASS-Korea
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.9-15
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• 2013

Wall thinning of pipeline in power plants occurs mainly by flow acceleration corrosion (FAC), cavitation erosion (C/E), liquid droplet impingement erosion (LDIE). Wall thinning by FAC and C/E has been well investigated; however, LDIE in plant industries has rarely been studied due to the experimental difficulty of setting up a long injection of highly-pressurized air. In this study, we designed a long-term experimental system for LDIE and investigate the behavior of LDIE for three kinds of materials (A106B, SS400, A6061). The main control parameter was the air-water ratio (${\alpha}$), which was defined as the volumetric ratio of water to air (0.79, 1.00, 1.72). In order to clearly understand LDIE, the spraying velocity (${\nu}$) of liquid droplets was controled larger then 160 m/s and the experiments were performed for 15 days. Therefore, this research focuses relation between erosion rate and air-water ratio on the various pipe-flow materials. NPP(nuclear power plant)'s LDIE prediction theory and management technique were drawn from the obtained data.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.125-131
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• 2013

The most common pipe wall thinning degradation mechanisms that can occur in the steam and feedwater systems are FAC (Flow Acceleration Corrosion), cavitation, flashing, and LDIE (Liquid Droplet Impingement Erosion). Among those degradation mechanisms, FAC has been investigated by many laboratories and industries. Cavitation and flashing are also protected on the piping design phase. LDIE has mainly investigated in aviation industry and turbine blade manufactures. On the other hand, LDIE has been little studied in NPP (Nuclear Power Plant) industry. This paper presents the development of prediction system for pipe wall thinning caused by LDIE in terms of erosion rate based on air-water ratio and material. Experiment is conducted in 3 cases of air-water ratio 0.79, 1.00, and 1.72 using the three types of the materials of A106B, SS400, and A6061. The main control parameter is the air-water ratio which is defined as the volumetric ratio of water to air (0.79, 1.00, 1.72). The experiments were performed for 15 days, and the surface morphology and hardness of the materials were examined for every 5 days. Since the spraying velocity (v) of liquid droplets and their contact area ($A_c$) on specimens are changed according to the air-water ratio, we analyzed the behavior of LDIE for the materials. Finally, the prediction equations(i.e. erosion rate) for LDIE of the materials were determined in the range of the air-water ratio from 0 to 2%.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.89-95
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• 2012

U.S. Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) has developed CHECWORKS program and applied it to power plant piping lines since some lines were ruptured by flow-accelerated corrosion (FAC) in 1978. Nowadays the CHECWORKS program has been used to manage pipe wall thinning phenomena caused by FAC. However, various erosion mechanisms can occur in carbon-steel piping. Most common forms of erosion are cavitation, flashing, liquid droplet impingement erosion (LDIE), and Solid Particle Erosion (SPE). Those erosion mechanisms cause pipe wall thinning, leaking, rupturing, and even result in unplanned shutdowns of utilities. Especially, in two phase condition, LDIE damages a wide scope of plant pipelines. Furthermore, LDIE is the major culprit to cause such as power runback by pipe leaking. This paper describes the methodologies that manage wall thinning and also predict LDIE wall thinning area. For this study, current properties of two-phase condition are investigated and LDIE areas are selected. The areas are checked by B-Scan method to detect the effect of wall thinning phenomena.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.11 no.6
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• pp.218-224
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• 2012

Liquid droplet impingement erosion (LDIE) known to be generated in aircraft and turbine blades is recently appeared in nuclear piping. UT thickness measurements with both A-scan and B-scan UT inspection equipments were performed for a component estimated as susceptible to LDIE in feedwater heater vent system. The thickness data measured with B-Scan equipment were compared with those of A-Scan. Thermal hydraulic analysis based on ANSYS FLUENT code was performed to analyze the behavior of liquid droplets inside piping. The wall thinning rate and residual lifetime based on both existing Sanchez-Caldera equation and measuring data were also calculated to identify the applicability of the existing equation to the LDIE management of nuclear piping. Because Sanchez-Caldera equation do not consider the feature of magnetite formed inside piping, droplet size, colliding frequency, the development of new evaluation method urgently needs to manage the pipe wall thinning caused by LDIE.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.317-323
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• 2018

Assumptions have always been that wall thinning on the secondary side piping in nuclear power plants is mostly caused by Flow-Accelerated Corrosion (FAC). Recent studies have showed that wall thinning on the secondary side piping is caused by Liquid Droplet Impingement Erosion (LDIE), Solid Particle Erosion (SPE), cavitation, and flashing. To manage those aging mechanisms, several software such as CHECWORKS, COMSY, and BRT-CICERO have been used in nuclear power plants. Korean nuclear power plants have been using the CHECWORKS program since 1996 to date. However, many site engineers have experienced a lot of inconveniences and problems in using the CHECWORKS program. In order to work through the inconveniences and to remedy problems, KEPCO-E&C has developed a "3D-based pipe wall thinning management program (ToSPACE)" based on the experience of over 30 years in relation to the pipe wall thinning management. This study compares the results of FAC and LDIE analysis using both the CHECWORKS and ToSPACE programs with respect to validation of the wall thinning analysis results.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
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• v.35 no.10
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• pp.1105-1110
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• 2011

Flow-accelerated corrosion (FAC) is a well-known phenomenon that may occur in piping and components. Most nuclear power plants have carbon-steel-pipe wall-thinning management programs in place to control FAC. However, various other erosion mechanisms may also occur in carbon-steel piping. The most common forms of erosion encountered (cavitation, flashing, Liquid Droplet Impingement Erosion (LDIE), and Solid Particle Erosion (SPE)), have caused wall thinning, leaks, and ruptures, and have resulted in unplanned shutdowns in utilities. In particular, the damage caused by LDIE is difficult to predict, and there has been no effort to protect piping from erosive damage. This paper presents an evaluation method for LDIE. It also includes the calculation results from prediction models, a review of the experimental results, and a comparison between the UT data in the damaged components and the results of the calculations and experiments.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
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• v.35 no.10
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• pp.1097-1103
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• 2011

Liquid droplet impingement erosion (LDIE) is caused by the impact of high-velocity droplets entrained in steam or air on metal. The degradation caused by the LDIE has been experienced in steam turbine internals and high-velocity airplane components (particularly canopies). Recently, LDIE has also been observed in the pipelines of nuclear plants. LDIE among the pipelines occurs when two-phase steam experiences a high pressure drop (e.g., across an orifice in a line to the condenser). In 2011, a nuclear power plant in Korea experienced a steam leak caused by LDIE in a pipe through which a two-phase fluid was flowing. This paper describes a study on the design change of a pipe affected by LDIE in order to mitigate the damage. The design change has been reviewed in terms of fluid dynamics by using the FLUENT code.