Corrosion research at TWI

TWI has a long tradition of research stretching back to the 1950s into the aspects of corrosion performance of materials with particular emphasis on the influence of welding upon degradation of materials behaviour. Over the past decade, TWI's expertise in thermal sprayed coatings has developed improved applications and quality of coatings for corrosion and wear/erosion prevention, further enhancing the specialist skills available in corrosion research.

As a prerequisite to understanding the impact of welding and joining technologies upon corrosion behaviour, TWI has extensive knowledge of the performance of the parent material. Indeed, many enquiries and consultancy issues may involve components which are not welded. However, our world reputation is centred on our understanding of in-service performance and degradation of welded materials.

See further details of the history of TWI sour service expertise (available only to TWI Industrial Members), from which the Sour Assurance Service has been derived.

Our research embraces all engineering materials and recent/current corrosion related activities include:

Carbon and low alloy steels:
- corrosion fatigue in sour conditions
- corrosion fatigue in sweet conditions
- sour service cracking
- engineering critical assessment in sour service
- HIC/HPIC
- SOHIC
- hydrogen embrittlement
- behaviour of weldments in mildly sour service
- preferential weldment corrosion in sweet production environments
- ERW/HFI line pipe in sour service
Spiral welded pipe for oil and gas
Duplex and super duplex stainless steels:
- sour service limits
- test methods
- influence of intermetallic and third phase precipitates
- performance under cathodic protection
Weldable martensitic and supermartensitic stainless steels (13%Cr)
- weldability and limits of application in sour or sweet service
- corrosion fatigue of CRA risers
Nickel-base alloys and Ti alloys in severe service conditions such as sour brines
Non-ferrous materials in various duties
Corrosion performance of welds produced by new joining methods:
- Friction stir welds in aluminium
- CRA welds made by friction, electron beam and laser for offshore applications.
Optimisation of materials selection for seawater handling systems in the Middle East
Corrosion behaviour of thermally sprayed ceramics, corrosion resistant alloys, aluminium, etc.

The industry drivers for our research activities include cost reduction through development of new materials, improved productivity welding technology, use of 'cheaper' materials in new conditions and new engineering developments e.g. catenary riser systems. This leads to the following demands:

New materials and the consequent need to understand their weldability and corrosion behaviour
New welding technologies and joining processes requiring establishment of the joint performance
Application of materials in new service conditions or service envelope extension
Corrosion fatigue in sour service and high pressure high temperature applications
Industry failure occurrences which have wide potential impact necessitating research to understand the underlying mechanisms
Single client confidential work for development of new products and designs to maintain technical excellence in the market place

With the continuous development of new knowledge and expertise through the Joint Industry Projects (JIP) and Core Research Programme of TWI, you can be assured that our staff are at the leading edge of developments in materials and joining technology, and knowledge of their impact on in-service performance. Through research and development, our consultancy support is maintained at the highest level to address your requirements.

Corrosion Services

Contact our Corrosion Team to discuss in confidence your requirements.