Finding Practical Cost-Effective Solutions

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Kinectrics can develop cost-effective prevention and control programs that will minimize your corrosion problems.

A serious problem

Corrosion of metallic components can have serious economic consequences:

• Higher equipment replacement costs
• Extended plant downtime
• Product contamination or destruction
• Environmental damage such as chemical leaks

Corroded equipment also increases safety risks. In various industries (electric power generating plants, chemical process, manufacturing, transportation, and many others), operators face tremendous pressure to reduce costs and increase productivity while maintaining system safety, reliability and efficiency.

Gaining the ability to predict the performance of key components as they age facilitates improved maintenance planning. Implementing newly enhanced operating conditions and chemistries can reduce component corrosion.

Specialized expertise and experience

Kinectrics provides specialized expertise, state-of-the-art equipment and long-term experience in corrosion assessment. Kinectrics facilities and capabilities have been developed over several decades in providing broad-based, long-term support for the power industry. We offer a variety of comprehensive services to assess the root cause, or test corrosion variables to determine and predict future component life.

Our advanced testing methodologies can simulate system conditions or in-service corrosion degradation mechanisms. Testing can be conducted in an accelerated mode to deliver quick results. Studies are aimed at providing a model for in-service corrosion and input for plant maintenance strategies.

Kinectrics has investigated the corrosion degradation of many different materials (nickel, copper, and zirconium alloys, stainless steels, carbon steel, and others). Environments studied span the full range of normal and out of specification chemistries and include the influence of deposits on corrosion of these materials.

Corrosion assessment typically comprises in-depth examination of degradation mechanisms such as stress corrosion cracking, flow-assisted corrosion, pitting and inter-granular attack, corrosion fatigue cracking, hydrogen embrittlement, and microbiologically influenced corrosion.

Kinectrics’ corrosion assessment services utilize:

• State-of-the-art equipment and facilities for both laboratory and fieldwork
• Corrosion testing of materials and components according to NACE International and A.S.T.M. standards
• Customized corrosion performance testing and monitoring in all environments
• Extensive experience in damage assessment and corrosion protection for above-ground and buried electricity transmission and distribution equipment, and fuel storage tanks
• Material corrosion testing under all operating conditions, including aggressive environments
• Damage investigation and failure analysis of contaminated and/or radioactive materials and components
• Evaluation, development and qualification for field application of boiler and heat-exchanger deposit cleaning solutions and procedures

Reliable results and reduced costs

Kinectrics’ specialists provide clients with reliable information on remaining component life as well as recommendations for equipment repair or replacement and revisions to process operating conditions. We provide assurance that material selections and operating chemistries are adequate for the required life of the component. The end result is increased reliability, safety and reduced operating costs.

Qualified industry specialists

The Kinectrics’ team remains current with corrosion issues facing various industries worldwide and can address numerous corrosion assessment needs. Our expertise covers a wide range of special alloys and materials subjected to a variety of aggressive conditions. For the assessment of long-term material integrity, Kinectrics also provides qualified specialists capable of performing flaw evaluations, analytical fracture mechanics, mathematical modeling, and probabilistic simulations.

Specific capabilities

• Materials analysis
• Optical microscopy
• Transmission and scanning electron microscopy
• X-ray diffraction and X-ray fluorescence
• Comprehensive analytical services laboratory
• Characterization of materials and associated deposits
• Availability of radioactive materials laboratory to examine radioactively contaminated materials

Corrosion testing facilities

• High temperature static autoclaves and re-circulating autoclave loops
• Sophisticated electrochemical corrosion monitoring and instrumentation
• Simulated system geometries to represent plant condition

For more information, contact

Allan Jarvine, 416.207.6000 x5785, allan.jarvine@kinectrics.com

Gabriel Ogundele, 416.207.6000 x6842, gabriel.ogundele@kinectrics.com