Abstract
The electrical resistance technique described here has been developed for practical application to corrosion tests of industrial laboratories. The technique can detect corrosion losses to a fraction of a microinch, does not require removal of corrosion products or other deposits and can be adapted to virtually all corrosive media and conditions. The main usefulness of the method is in establishing the relative corrosivities of media which are closely alike. Several typical applications are given: 1) the determination of the relative corrosivities of crude oils at refinery temperatures, 2) the identification of the source of the corrosive components responsible for the attack in a vis-breaking unit charging a complex feed mixture, 3) the determination of the corrosivity of sulfuric acid sludges, 4) a quantative assessment of oil-soluble rust inhibitors, and 5) the determination of the corrosivity—to lead—of oxidized lubricating oils as a function of the degree of oxidation of the oils.
