Methods of Evaluating the Corrosion Resistance of Low-Alloy and Carbon Tube Steels under the Service Conditions of Oil and Gas Pipelines

At present, determining the content of corrosion-active nonmetallic inclusions in tube steels is the best way to evaluate these steels' resistance to local corrosion under the service conditions of oil-field tubing in Western Siberia. However, the method needs to be refined or supplemented. Field tests of tube steels are an important means of gauging the corrosion resistance of these materials and pipes when certain conditions are observed. Laboratory corrosion tests should be performed under conditions identical to the corrosion conditions encountered in the field. The rates of the main corrosion processes that take place during the problem-free operation of pipelines may turn out to be significantly higher in the laboratory than in field tests. __________ Translated from Metallurg, No. 5, pp. 44–50, May, 2005.