What Real-Time Corrosion Monitoring Means for Industry
In an industrial setting, you must stay one step ahead of corrosion to remain competitive and get the most out of the investments you’ve made into your assets. This is particularly the case when considering oil and gas infrastructure, such as pipelines and their related equipment and machinery, which are prone to damage from both general corrosion and localized corrosion.
Over time, the natural process of corrosion deteriorates materials. Without proper management, corrosion often leads to structural failures. You and your fellow stakeholders will want to protect your organization’s valuable equipment by using real-time corrosion monitoring in your facilities. Real-time data revolutionizes corrosion protection and industrial maintenance and safety, safeguarding assets as well as workers.
Real-time corrosion monitoring uses advanced probes, sensors and other technology to give you a comprehensive view of the state of your equipment, from pitting corrosion to other types of corrosion damage. It keeps track of how much metal the assets lose and how corrosive the environment is.
Unlike corrosion inspections, which only give you periodic data when you schedule them, real-time corrosion monitoring gives you continuous information about possible corrosion of your equipment. The ability to capture real-time corrosion data is revolutionizing industrial maintenance and safety because previously, organizations only addressed the problem long after damage commenced.
That is, real-time data allows you to address problems proactively rather than merely reacting to damage after the fact. For example, you do not get continuous information using offline linear polarization resistance (LPR).
Companies with a mandate to better control maintenance costs and work more proactively rather than reactively are shifting from traditional approaches to now use real-time monitoring methods for enhanced decision-making, which involves using advanced sensors and software to help them determine the best course of action for predictive maintenance.
Technologies Behind Real-Time Corrosion Monitoring
There’s no need for organizations to hobble themselves by relying solely on periodic inspections since new technologies facilitate real-time monitoring.
Technologies used for real-time corrosion data acquisition include:
Wireless connectivity — You can network your sensors and probes to transmit crucial real-time information to a centralized storage and analysis hub and trigger real-time alerts to your maintenance team. Progress in the development and implementation of Internet of Things (IoT) devices is transforming how industrial facilities monitor their equipment.
Atmospheric Corrosion Monitor (ACM) sensor technology — ACM sensor technology can give you a real-time map of corrosion.
Corrosion Coupons — Sometimes referred to as corrosion wafers, corrosion coupons rely on silver and copper (being quite prone to erosion) for monitoring corrosion data in terms of fluctuating chemical levels, such as nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide.
Artificial intelligence — Industrial companies use artificial intelligence in the form of the dual-driven Data and Knowledge Neural Network (DKNN) model. It works effectively in conjunction with the corrosion current data you gather from Atmospheric Corrosion Monitor sensors. You’ll benefit from real-time analytics to keep better track of corrosion in real-time.
Software — Today’s corrosion management software enables you to connect a network of sensors that you place inside tanks, pipes and other equipment to create a historical record of the thickness of your infrastructure and see in real-time the effects of metal loss from corrosion.
Probes — Electrical resistance (ER) probes give you ongoing measurements to enable dynamic corrosion tracking and monitoring. They track the change of electrical resistance of metal components in a corrosive environment. Corrosion sensors work in real-time settings by keeping track of changes to the metal. They facilitate instant corrosion alerts and better tracking of damage to assist with proactive maintenance tasks.
Applications of Real-Time Corrosion Data
Real-time data can improve corrosion management since you get immediate, continuous information rather than merely reacting to what you learn after the latest corrosion inspection.
Applications of real-time corrosion data in the oil and gas industries include predicting erosion rates so you can prioritize what aspects of your infrastructure to address first before a major failure.
You can also optimize work safety. Real-time data gathering from installed sensors improves your ability to proactively address corrosion issues, especially in areas that are difficult or dangerous for humans to access.
Benefits of Instant Corrosion Alerts
One of the most important aspects of a system that gives real-time monitoring of corrosion is that you can set it up to deliver instant corrosion alerts.
Such alerts will improve the quality of your team’s preventive maintenance strategies by giving them all the information they need about what parts of the facility or specific pieces of equipment are in danger of being compromised or are about to fail from erosion. A timely alert can minimize company downtime, as well as prevent expensive, catastrophic failures.
Environmental Impact on Corrosion
Environmental factors that impact corrosion include:
- Corrosive chemicals
- Moisture
- Water
- Humidity
- Salt content
- Sulfur dioxide and other pollutants
Real-time data lets you take a proactive approach so you can deal with corrosion faster before damage increases (possibly to the point of equipment failure).
Real-time monitoring gives you comprehensive data to help you better understand the environmental impact on corrosion, especially when you face fluctuating environmental conditions.
Implementing a Corrosion Management System
If you lack the in-house expertise to modernize your corrosion management processes to gather data and respond to erosion in real-time, you’ll want to consider consulting with third-party experts.
You’ll need to obtain sensors and network them with specialized corrosion monitoring and analysis software to implement a corrosion management system.
Steps to design and implement an integrated corrosion management system include:
- Devise a strategy that defines thresholds for metal damage as you begin to monitor equipment in a highly corrosive environment, in real time.
- Determine how much you’ll need to budget for the new system, and make sure that you compare that with the financial benefits of working proactively rather than reactively to signs of corrosion found only during period inspections rather than ongoing data collection.
- Train your staff with details about the importance of ongoing monitoring of corrosion in pipelines and related equipment.
- Ensure you have enough sensors to install in key points in your infrastructure that need ongoing monitoring.
- Prioritize locations where humans find it challenging or impossible to access, to know where to place your first sensors.
- Establish protocols for your team about responding to real-time alerts about significant changes in corrosion rates, so they can respond proactively. Immediate insights about the rate and progress of corrosion facilitate timelier interventions.
Your team should keep top of mind the importance of adhering to industrial standards and how real-time data can ensure compliance.
How SMARTCORR® Helps Solve Corrosion Issues
Real-time corrosion data is redefining the approach companies adopt for corrosion monitoring and prevention, especially when there is a high corrosion potential in your facilities. You’ll find that it’s best to adopt a proactive approach to the problem of corrosion monitoring rather than just reacting to corrosion after it has resulted in severe erosion of your equipment.
Using modern corrosion sensors in conjunction with ER probe systems
The corrosion science experts at SMARTCORR® provide solutions with corrosion monitoring software that give you crucial, real-time corrosion data so you can maintain and protect your valuable equipment.
Our SMARTCORR® corrosion management software gathers crucial corrosion detection information using electrical resistance (ER) probes, corrosion coupons, chemical sampling and analysis, cathodic protection and real time UT measurement of wall thickness.
Indeed, you can use our corrosion management system to measure the changing thickness of your infrastructure. When it detects metal loss, the system automatically sends alerts to your operators to help you avoid expensive downtime and outright failures. Furthermore, catching corrosion in its earliest phase helps prevent the working environment from growing more dangerous to your employees.
Your team will have the corrosion rate data it needs to know what components need to be replaced before failure. Not needing to conduct near-constant inspections, especially in dangerous or inaccessible areas, will also promote a safer working environment.
If you have questions about our corrosion monitoring software or want to consult with us about using real-time corrosion data in your facilities, please contact us today.