Corrosion studies for the pharmaceutical industry

To meet legal and company-level requirements, a Risk Based Inspection (RBI) methodology is often introduced. The basis of this RBI philosophy is a corrosion study (a damage mechanism study). During such a study, all expected damage mechanisms in a plant are identified and the associated damage rates and failure modes for each piece of equipment are determined.

A corrosion study is a team effort that brings together the experience and knowledge of corrosion experts with inspection, process and maintenance personnel through team meetings.

CORROSION STUDIES

A corrosion study identifies the possible degradation mechanisms per combination of material – medium – process conditions. In addition, a material degradation rate or susceptibility is determined. This allows a residual life of the installation to be estimated. The study can be performed on an entire plant, parts of the plant or a specific installation.

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The advantages of a corrosion study:

  • Insight and awareness concerning the degradation mechanisms of your plant.
  • A structured and substantiated answer on governmental requirements.
  • Allows you to optimize your inspection efforts when it comes to efficiency and budget.

METALogic uses its own approach to perform a corrosion study in a qualitative and structured way. This approach of the corrosion study (also followed by RBI) has been translated into our own designed software package CorLife.

RISK-BASED INSPECTION (RBI)

A corrosion study is the ideal start of an RBI strategy.

In a risk-based inspection strategy, inspection resources are deployed where they are most required. In other words, the inspection interval of a pipeline (or equipment part) is determined by the risk of failure. The risk of failure is the result of the probability of failure and the consequence of failure.

The outcome of the RBI study is an inspection plan which provides the following extensive information on each pipeline or equipment part. Inspection histories can also be easily retrieved via the software.

Read more about the RBI strategy

The advantages of RBI strategy:

  • Optimal inspection efforts according to risk
  • Risks are detected and can be mitigated
  • Insurance fees are reduced
Inspections

Inspections

We have experienced engineers and inspectors in-house to perform on-site visual inspections. The main goal of inspections on demand of the client is to map the condition of an installation or to establish [...]

Contract research

Contract research

We offer contract research for project research related to materials, coatings and materials degradation in general. Depending on the nature of the problem, METALogic assigns a team of engineers to the [...]

Materials selection

Materials selection

Based on our specific knowledge and many years of experience in corrosion studies, corrosion testing and failure analyses METALogic can assist you in selecting the most appropriate material for your [...]

On-site support

On-site support

METALogic can provide (qualitative) support at the client, which is typically longer term support. Project engineers in different disciplines can: Manage inspections of the installations and piping [...]

Damage mechanism study

Damage mechanism study

A corrosion study or a failure mechanism study gives the user essential knowledge on integrity of the installation by determining and listing potential failure mechanisms. The output of a failure mechanism [...]

Risk-based inspection (RBI)

Risk-based inspection (RBI)

To map the whole tangle of piping and equipment on a site and make inspection of these manageable, METALogic suggests its RBI approach. By performing a profound study of potential failure mechanisms by [...]

Failure analysis

Failure analysis

Our team of experts have in-depth knowledge and many years of experience in failure analysis and is supported by state-of-the-art equipment and laboratories. METALogic goes to the limit to solve your [...]

Corrosion tests

Corrosion tests

Testing of corrosion in our laboratory is mainly done by exposure testing and/or by electrochemical tests (cyclic polarization measurements). Exposure tests are closest to reality and therefore yield the [...]