Abstract:

Hong Kong has an extensive network of more than 5,700 kilometres of pipeline, providing sea water for flushing to users in most urban areas. Some of these pipes are in service for more than 30 years, and pipe bursts and leakages have often occurred due to ageing of these pipes and other frequent road work, ground settlement, external loading, and vibration. The heavily corroded pipe has unpredictable service life for saltwater pipes and would burst easier and faster than freshwater pipes.

In this study, laboratory and on-site testing methodology have been applied to test the inhibition effect of different inhibitors in seawater. Dynamic constant flow and static immersion tests were conducted in a Real-time test setup and a Steady-state setup. The weight-loss data have been recorded and used to calculate Inhibition Efficiency (IE, %). In addition, the conventional weight-loss methods applied will be critically evaluated in this study with different approaches.