• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.6-14
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• 2014

Copper metal is widely used in tubes installed in sprinkler water services because of its excellent corrosion resistance. Copper corrosion is considered to be insignificant in water system and the incident of copper pipeline failure is relatively low. However, pitting corrosion is a major problem with all copper tubes. In this study, leaked sprinkler copper tubes were collected from three different locations and examined on the causes of pitting corrosion of copper tubes in sprinkler water plumbing systems. Electrochemical tests such as potentiodynamic polarization, as well as surface and chemical analyses were performed. Results show that pitting corrosion of copper tubes were found as Type I pitting that the carbon film formed on the copper tubes have a harmful effects, causing the pinhole failure in the pipe and resulting in leakage of water. The contermeasures on Type I pitting corrosion of copper tubes were proposed.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.147-153
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• 2018

Copper is used in various applications in environments favoring and enabling formation of biofilms by naturally occurring microbes. Copper is also the chosen corrosion barrier for nuclear waste in Finland. The copper canisters should have lifetimes of 100,000 years. Copper is commonly considered to be resistant to corrosion in oxygen-free water. This is an important argument for using copper as a corrosion protection in the planned canisters for spent nuclear-fuel encapsulation. However, microbial biofilm formation on metal surfaces can increase corrosion in various conditions and provide conditions where corrosion would not otherwise occur. Microbes can alter pH and redox potential, excrete corrosion-inducing metabolites, directly or indirectly reduce or oxidize the corrosion products, and form biofilms that create corrosive microenvironments. Microbial metabolites are known to initiate, facilitate, or accelerate general or localized corrosion, galvanic corrosion, and intergranular corrosion, as well as enable stress-corrosion cracking. Sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) are present in the repository environment. Sulfide is known to be a corrosive agent for copper. Here we show results from corrosion of copper in anoxic simulated ground water in the presence of SRB enriched from the planned disposal site.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.43 no.6
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• pp.557-566
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• 2011

A cold spray coating (CSC) of copper was studied for its application to a high-level radioactive waste (HLW) disposal canister. Several copper coatings of 10 mm thick were fabricated using two kinds of copper powders with different oxygen contents, and SS 304 and nodular cast iron were used as their base metal substrates. The fabricated CSC coppers showed a high tensile strength but were brittle in comparison with conventional non-coating copper, hereinafter defined to as "commercial copper". The corrosion behavior of CSC coppers was evaluated by comparison with commercial coppers, such as extruded and forged coppers. The polarization test results showed that the corrosion potential of the CSC coppers was closely related to its purity; low-purity (i.e., high oxygen content) copper exhibited a lower corrosion potential, and high-purity copper exhibited a relatively high corrosion potential. The corrosion rate converted from the measured corrosion current was not, however, dependent on its purity: CSC copper showed a little higher rate than that of commercial copper. Immersion tests in aqueous HCl solution showed that CSC coppers were more susceptible to corrosion, i.e., they had a higher corrosion rate. However, the difference was not significant between commercial copper and high-purity CSC copper. The decrease of corrosion was observed in a humid air test presumably due to the formation of a protective passive film. In conclusion, the results of this study indicate that CSC application of copper could be a useful option for fabricating a copper HLW disposal canister.

• Journal of Conservation Science
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.259-271
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• 2018

Outdoor copper alloy is exposed to the atmospheric environment, accelerating corrosion progress compared with indoor copper alloy. In order to prevent corrosion, the outdoor copper alloy is coated with wax to block external corrosion factors. However, corrosion of the inside of the coating film is highly likely to continue without the internal corrosion prevention treatment. B.T.A, which is used as a copper alloy water-soluble corrosion inhibitor, has a high possibility of being harmful to the human body and is mainly used to treat excavated artifacts. This study had selected the water-soluble corrosion inhibitor, which was easier to use than the existing wax and B.T.A being used in corrosion inhibition treatment for outdoor copper alloy. A comparative study was conducted on B.T.A, which is a water-soluble corrosion inhibitor used on excavated artifacts, and $VCI^{(R)}$, $Rus^{(R)}$, and L-cys, an amino acid corrosion inhibitor, used for tin bronze test pieces. The experimental method was conducted for a certain period of time with the salt, acid, and air pollution affecting the corrosion of outdoor copper alloy. Based on experiment results, it was concluded that the best water - soluble copper alloy corrosion inhibitor in the atmospheric environment is $VCI^{(R)}$. and it could be considered to be applied in replacement of B.T.A due to its low harmfulness. In addition, $VCI^{(R)}$ is judged to serve as a corrosion inhibitor for outdoor copper alloy because it showed the best result even in the outdoor exposure test which is a real atmospheric environment.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.17-25
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• 2012

Concern about green water problem has surfaced as a serious issue in Korea. In order to solve this problem, it is necessary to research inhibition of green water and corrosion control of copper pipe in water service. This paper discovered that moderate corrosion inhibitors can solve the green water problem and copper corrosion in water service by adding the optimal concentration of corrosion inhibitors based on regulation. Firstly, in the case of phosphate based corrosion inhibitors, as dosage of the corrosion inhibitor increases from 1 mg/L to 5 mg/L, the relative effect of corrosion inhibitor declines rapidly. Secondly, except for 1 mg/L dosage of silicate based inhibitor, relative effects of the inhibitor displays a positive number depending on inhibitor concentration. The most significant result is that the amount of copper release shows a downward trend, whereas the phosphate based inhibitor accelerates copper ion release as the inhibitor dosage increases. Thirdly, as the dosage of mixed inhibitors increases to 10 mg/L, the copper release change shows a similar trend of phosphate based inhibitor. Lastly, according to the Langelier saturation index (LI), silicate based inhibitors have the most non corrosive value. Larson ratio (LR) indicates that phosphate based inhibitors are the least corrosive. Korea water index (KWI) represents that silicate based inhibitors are most effective in controlling copper pipe corrosion.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.44-50
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• 2018

The aims of this study were to determine the corrosion behavior of pure copper in the presence of Desulfovibrio sp. and also to investigate the effects of glutaraldehyde (GD) and isothiazolinone (ISO) on the corrosion behavior of pure copper in the presence of this sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) strain by using electrochemical techniques. Electrochemical measurements of pure copper were carried out at specified time intervals (0, 8, 24, 48, and 96 hr) over a period of exposure. Corrosion rates of pure copper from anodic and cathodic Tafel slopes and corrosion potential ($E_{corr}$) were determined. Biofilm and corrosion products on the copper surfaces were observed by Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM) and Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectrometry (EDS) analyses. The effects of solution types (PC (Postgate's C medium) and SRB (Desulfovibrio sp.)) and exposure times of copper and biocides (ISO or GD) on the corrosion rates of pure copper were evaluated by statistical analyses. As a result of the FESEM analysis, biofilm formation was observed on the surfaces of pure copper exposed to the Desulfovibrio sp. cultures both with and without the biocides. The results show that the pure copper was corroded by Desulfovibrio sp. However, the addition of GD or ISO to the Desulfovibrio sp. culture resulted in a decrease in the corrosion rate of the pure copper. It was also observed that both of the biocides showed a similar effect on pure copper's corrosion rate caused by Desulfovibrio sp.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.8 no.6
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• pp.232-237
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• 2009

Copper tubes are widely used in the distribution systems of drinking water throughout the world because of their excellent corrosion resistance, high thermal conductivity, and ease of fabrication. However, corrosion problems from copper tubes as blue water phenomenon and leakage have been reported appreciably. The effect of pH on the corrosion behavior of copper tube for tap water was investigated by electrochemical voltammetric techniques in synthetic tap water. And the copper corrosion cases were discussed from the viewpoint of factors affecting the corrosion rate such as pH, alkalinity, LSI(Langelier Saturation Index), and concentration of bicarbonate and dissolved carbon dioxide.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.137-152
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• 2023

Polarization behavior and corrosion inhibition of copper in acidic chloride solutions containing benzotriazole were studied. Pourbaix diagrams constructed for copper in NaCl solutions with different BTAH concentrations were used to understand the polarization behavior. Open circuit potential (OCP) depended not only on chloride concentration, but also on whether a CuBTA layer was formed on the copper surface. Only when the (pH, OCP) was located well in the CuBTA region of the Pourbaix diagram, a stable corrosion inhibiting CuBTA layer was formed, which was confirmed by X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) and a long-term corrosion test. The OCP for the CuBTA layer decreased logarithmically with increasing [Cl^-] activity in the solution. A minimum BTAH concentration required to form a CuBTA layer for a given NaCl concentration and pH were determined from the Pourbaix diagram. It was found that 320 ppm BTAH solution could be used to form a corrosion-inhibiting CuBTA layer inside the corrosion pit in the sprinkler copper tube, successfully reducing water leakage rate of copper tubes. These experimental results could be used to estimate water chemistry inside a corrosion pit.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.12 no.5
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• pp.253-258
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• 2013

Effects of copper hydroxide(II) on the curing and the corrosion resistance of electrocoating were investigated by MEK rubbing test, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and Thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA). Curing performance of electrocoating was lowered with increasing the content of copper hydroxide(II) as evidenced by the MEK rub performance which decreased with increasing the content of copper hydroxide(II). This indicates copper hydroxide(II) affected the blocked isocyanate reaction in the coatings, by the decomposition of copper hydroxide(II) to CuO and $H_2O$ during reaction of isocyanate with nuclephiles. Corrosion resistance of coatings also decreased with the content of copper hydroxide. This reflects the higher barrier property in coatings with higher curing performance.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.99-111
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• 2008

Copper was exposed unsheltered and sheltered in four humid tropical sites, representing urban, urban-industrial, urban-marine and rural environments. The corrosion rates and the sequence of corrosion product formation are presented and discussed in relation with climatic and atmospheric pollution parameters. Chemical compositions of corrosion products were found to depend on environments and duration of exposure. In all environments, cuprite was the predominating corrosion product that formed first and continuously increased during the exposure. Among the sulphur-containing corrosion products, posnjakite and brochantite were more frequently found and the first formed earlier. Nantokite was the most common chlorine-containing products for most cases, except the high-chloride environment, where atacamite was detected instead. The corrosion rate of copper was well indicated by the colour of patina. The red-purple colour corresponded to the high corrosion rate and the greenish grey colour corresponded to the low corrosion rate. Corrosion rate of sheltered copper in urban-marine environment increased with the exposure time.