ACA CORROSION FEATURE
CORROSION CHALLENGES FACING UTILITY COMPANIES by Wes Fawaz, Executive Officer, Australasian Corrosion Association My organisation often reports that the continuing challenge for utility companies is the management, mitigation and remediation of the corrosion of their assets. This is both costly and inconvenient to the companies themselves, their customers and in many cases the general public. During discussions with members of the ACA I have learnt that there are common concerns for those rising to meet this challenge. Many - like the effects on structures in aggressive, marine environments - have been known and studied for decades. Some, though, are surprising. Stray electrical current that leaks from the power systems of trains and industrial facilities can have an effect on other structures, such as buried pipelines, that are nowhere near to the source. There is also much research being carried out into the impact of bacteriological corrosion on materials; marine wharves submerged in shallow, often stagnant water or the 'blue green water' effect in copper water piping. Another area being extensively researched is the effects of hidden corrosion that occurs behind the insulating cladding of commercial buildings. “Urban sprawl’ and the concentration of infrastructure in cities - both large and small - are also being studied. The
latter two can interfere in a variety of ways with corrosion management and asset maintenance; not only the risk of construction work damaging existing buried services of all kinds but also restriction of physical access sites for maintenance work. Much of the equipment and infrastructure owned and operated by utility companies is in these environments, in addition to some also being in remote and isolated locations. Monitoring and maintaining all this is an expensive exercise. One challenge that is mentioned frequently is the need to plan corrosion management. Today, the utility industry has the capability to thoroughly assess the corrosion degradation of structures such as pylons and pipelines and implement an effective remediation and maintenance solution based upon detailed assessment of the cause and extent of the deterioration; it is no longer good enough to simply say “That looks to be OK; I can't see any rust” and hope for the best. Fortunately, experienced practitioners tell me that asset owners are today much more willing to build corrosion protection and management into a project at the design stage. Proactive management is becoming the norm for nearly all infrastructure and
major construction projects. Being unaware of the current condition of infrastructure may lead to the premature failure of the asset leaving limited options to the asset owner, with replacement being the most expensive option. Unforeseen failure of an asset provides major consequences that constitute a risk to business operations or potential loss to the organisation. It is therefore crucial to asset management to determine the remaining lifecycle of an asset and the capability of it to meet the designed performance and level of service requirements. This can be done by means of a thorough asset condition assessment and corrosion audit. Once this is completed we can then proceed to produce a complete maintenance program for the lifecycle of the structures. The ACA has an ongoing program of technical seminars and training courses teaching effective and efficient management of corrosion. Knowledge and understanding of the latest corrosion technologies and processes is a key factor in managing the threat that corrosion poses. I am proud to say that one of the key ACA events that facilitates the exchange of ideas and experience of the many hundreds of people working to manage corrosion is the annual
Construction Engineering Australia • Oct/Nov 2017
55