Waterside Corrosion Monitoring

KEMA developed the Erosion-Corrosion Management System (ECMS) to control erosion corrosion

The danger of problems arising increases when a plant is operated outside the prescribed parameters – which is often the case during startup and shutdown. It is therefore very important that all parameters are brought within their normal operational ranges as quickly as possible. However, problems can also occur during continuous operation. Common causes include:
- contamination of the return condensate
- creeping condenser leakage
- malfunctioning de-aerator
- penetration and decomposition of organic materials.

Erosion-corrosion management system
Erosion-Corrosion (EC) may force costly repairs and cause injuries in water-steam systems. The EC mechanism is internationally well understood. It is known which chemical and physical parameters play an important role and what areas have to be inspected in the secondary circuits of nuclear power plants. KEMA developed the Erosion-Corrosion Management System (ECMS) to control EC. Its main features are:
- selection and storage of objects
- grid of pipes in each characteristic area to be measured
- semi-automatic loading and manual loading of the thickness measured using ultrasonic equipment
- calculation of minimum thickness
- EC rate
- area lifetime
- dependent on the material: water
- chemical/physical conditions
- operation.

Micro-organisms will directly effect surfaces exposed to surface (cooling) water. These micro-organisms can cause a significant increase in the speed of corrosion of metallic surfaces. This form of corrosion is called ‘Microbial Induced Corrosion’ (MIC). KEMA uses the MIC-kit™ III for the detection of problem-causing bacteria involved in MIC supported by light microscopic techniques (DICOM), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), and X-ray Micro Analysis (RMA) for detection of characteristic MIC structures.