STUDY OF DUCTILE IRON WATER PIPES CORROSION UNDER KUWAIT ENVIRONMENT

Abstract

Pipelines are generally externally protected against soil-side corrosion by a combination of protective coatings and impressed current cathodic protection. For the protection of the intemal area of the pipelines, depending upon the corrosive tendency of the process fluids, corrosion control measures are adopted in the form of inhibitor dosing.

Considering the inherent hazard posed in the event of the failure of pipelines, corrosion monitoring of the external and intemal surface is necessary for pipelines in spite of the fact that proper coJTosion control measures I ike protective coating and cathodic protection have been implemented. Monitoring is required to ensure that all sections of pipelines are protected against corrosion (extemal and internal). It is also to assess the performance level of various control measures, and to thereby ensure that the corrosion prevention systems, e.g., the cathodic protection and protective coating, are performing adequately as intended and affording complete protection.

Various causes of pipeline failures are discussed, and the methods for ensunng the safety and integrity of a system are described in detail. The capabilities and limitations of various techniques in use for monitoring the effectiveness of corrosion protection systems and for assessing the health of pipelines are discussed based• on practical experience and established practice in the industry.

The thesis investigates the corrosion of ductile tron pipe under Kuwait environment. Experiments cover pipes used on both fresh water transport and sewage. The study emphasized that under normal coating condition, corrosion in most of the tested pipes is within the allowed limits that recommended by the different standards.