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Corrosion

The activities of the “Corrosion” platform concern interactions between metallic, polymer and composite materials and aggressive liquid and/or gas environments.

The platform, located at IFPEN’s Solaize site, in southern France, boasts a variety of testing resources, from the the exposure and characterization of material coupons to mid-scale/full-scale, on highly aggressive environments: high pressures, high temperatures, presence of hazardous or toxic gases such as H₂, CO₂, H₂S, etc.

Priority access to a pooled corrosion test loop (CorRTEx) financed with the backing of the Auvergne Rhône-Alpes region and located at Axel’One PPI (Solaize) as well as a partnership with the French Corrosion Institute (Saint-Etienne) complete this unique experimental offer.

The majority of tests can benefit from advanced online monitoring methods: electrochemistry, acoustic emission, microbalance, thermobalance, etc. Equipment combining mechanical stresses and an aggressive environment on structures on an industrial scale are also available. In addition, mechanical, electrochemical and thermodynamic modeling capacities reinforce experimentation in terms of both test definition and the associated analysis. This coherent global offer makes it possible to understand and predict the risks of material degradation with a view to proposing the appropriate and effective solutions.

Close ties with academic laboratories in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, particularly INSA Lyon and the Ecole des Mines engineering school in Saint-Etienne, further reinforce the platform’s scientific and technical expertise.

Types of activity : Material corrosion and degradation tests, Damage appraisals, Material selection, Characterization, Modeling, R&D services, Multi-partner (public/private) research projects

Boucle de corrosion mutualisée (Corrtex) — Pooled corrosion test loop (Corrtex) - Zone dedicated to the preparation of the test solution in medium pressure conditions & Zone dedicated to testing in high-pressure / high-temperature conditions – *IFPEN/French Corrosion Institute – financed with the support of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Region*

Banc d'essai de fatigue-corrosion pour prototypes industriels — Fatigue-corrosion test bench for industrial prototypes *– IFPEN*

Areas of expertise

Corrosion and degradation in aqueous media (brines) and dissolved CO₂/H₂S
Corrosion and degradation in non-aqueous media in high-temperature conditions (hydrocarbons, vegetable oils, etc.)
Material / extreme gas environment (natural gas, CO₂, H₂S, H₂, etc.) interactions
Fracturing in H₂S environments, hydrogen embrittlement
Corrosion under constraints, fatigue-corrosion
Mineral clogging, corrosion deposits
Online monitoring, advanced electrochemistry
Multi-physical modeling

Resources available

- Corrosion laboratories, glass reactors, autoclaves, HP/HT corrosion loop
- Pits for mid/full scale tests under HP conditions - CO₂ / H₂S / natural gas - and under mechanical stresses
- Tests in high-temperature gas environments, thermobalances
- Electrochemical instrumentation, acoustic emission, quartz crystal microbalance
- Hydrogen permeation in steel
- Gas permeation through polymers
- Mechanical tests in the environment
- A variety of analysis techniques: SEM, XRD, FT-IR, etc.

Bancs d'essais mécaniques en milieu corrosion sous pression et température — Mechanical test benches in corrosive environment under pressure and temperature conditions – *French Corrosion Institute*

Anneaux d'essais de fissuration en milieu H2S (SSC) — Fracturing test rings in an H2S environment (SSC) – *French Corrosion Institute*

Unité de test de perméation sous hydrogène gazeux — Hydrogen permeation test unit *– IFPEN*

Réacteur instrumenté pour tests jusqu'à 100 bar / 200°C — Reactor equipped for tests up to 100 bar / 200°C *– IFPEN*

Certification: ISO 9001 (research and innovation activities relating to sustainable systems and technologies in the fields of energy, transport and the environment)

Key words: degradation, corrosion, corrosion under constraint, hydrogen embrittlement, oxidation, metal dusting, high-temperature hydrogen attack (HTHA), electrochemistry, steels, polymers, permeation, clogging, CorRTEx, CO₂, H₂S, H₂