Laboratory and field testing of bolting systems subjected to highly corrosive environments

The capacity of ground support components which have been affected by corrosion is reduced and may ultimately lead to dynamic failure of the component and the strata. In order to maintain an effective,long-term ground support system, significant campaigns of rehabilitation are often required in corrosion affected areas which also expose the workers to hazardous conditions. The most common corrosion protection for steel ground support utilises sacrificial systems such as galvanising. Galvanising has previously been proven to be susceptible to some corrosion processes. Stainless steel is the most effective in resistance to corrosion, but can be cost prohibitive, and its mechanical properties often make it unsuited to use in ground support components. Providing an outer protective plastic coating to bolts has proven to be an effective means of protecting the inner steel bar from corrosion. However, these support systems tend to be susceptible to coating damage, and require post cement grouting to provide full encapsulation. In comparison to a standard bolt/resin system, they can be slow to install and expensive.These systems have also been shown to reduce overall load transfer performance of the bolting system. In order to provide a higher level of corrosion protection whilst maintaining current installation practices and bolting cycle times, Minova has developed the Enduro^(TM)steel ground support range. The Enduro^(TM) range consists of standard Minova steel ground support components which have been treated with a unique coating process. The Enduro^(TM)coating has been tested in the harshest of conditions, in laboratory controlled conditions and in underground trials. It has been proven to effectively resist or completely eliminate the formation of corrosion, even in the most aggressive environments. This paper explains the process and provides the details of the laboratory and underground corrosion performance testing carried out on Enduro^(TM)ground support products.

Effect of nonmetallic inclusions on localized corrosion of spring steel

Certain inclusions in high-strength 60Si2Mn-Cr spring steel result in poor resistance to localized corrosion.In this work,to study the effect of inclusions on the localized corrosion behavior of spring steel,accelerated corrosion tests were performed by immersing spring steel in 3wt%FeCl_(3)solution for different times.The results show that severe corrosion occurred in areas of clustered CaS inclusions.Sulfide inclusions containing Ca and Mg induced the strongest localized corrosion susceptibility.For the case of(Ca,Mn,Mg)S inclusions,the ability to induce localized corrosion susceptibility is ranked as follows:MgS>CaS>MnS.Moreover,CaS,(Ca,Mn)S,and(Ca,Mn,Mg)S inclusions were mainly responsible for inducing environmental embrittlement.

Comparison between FAC Analysis Result Using ToSPACE &CHECWORKS Programs and Experimental Result

A number of piping components in the secondary system of nuclear power plants (NPPs) have been exposed to aging mechanisms such as FAC (Flow-Accelerated Corrosion), cavitation, flashing, LDIE (Liquid Droplet Impingement Erosion), and SPE (Solid Particle Erosion). Those mechanisms may lead to thinning, leaking, or the rupture of components. Due to the pipe ruptures caused by wall thinning of Surry Unit 2 in 1986 and Mihama Unit 3 in 2004, pipe wall thinning management has emerged as one of the most important issues in the nuclear industry. To manage the wall thinning of pipes caused by FAC and erosion, KEPCO-E & C has developed ToSPACE program. It can predict both FAC & erosion phenomena, and also be utilized in the pipe wall thinning management works such as susceptibility analysis, UT (Ultrasonic Test) data evaluation as well as establishment of long-term inspection plan. Even though the ToSPACE can predict the five aging mechanisms mentioned above, only the FAC prediction result using ToSPACE was compared herein with the experimental result using FACTS (Flow Accelerated Corrosion Test System) to verify the ToSPACE’s capability. In addition, the FAC prediction result using ToSPACE was also compared with that of CHECWORKS that is widely used all over the world.