The Microcor® corrosion monitoring technology has been developed to substantially increase the speed of response over conventional monitoring techniques, such as coupons, electrical resistance (ER) probes, and linear polarization resistance (LPR), and is functional in all environments. Microcor is the result of patented technology which combines the rapid response of LPR and the universal applicability of ER. The figure below compares the real world response of various corrosion monitoring methods to the Microcor system. Corrosion rate on a logarithmic scale is plotted against time, also on a logarithmic scale. At 10 mpy, the common W40 electrical resistance probe takes nearly 3 days to show a clear response. A Microcor probe with the same useful probe life will show a clear response in 1 hour, and the trend is visible in 15 minutes. Even an LPR probe in water will take 5 to 10 minutes to produce a steady corrosion rate reading. This means that the Microcor system is 50 to 100 times more sensitive and faster in response than ER systems. The absolute resolution of the Microcor electronics is 256 times more sensitive than ER system electronics. The Microcor measurement is based fundamentally on metal loss and is therefore directly comparable to ER probe data and coupon data. It does not depend on the empirically determined electrochemical constants of LPR measurements, or the complex and variable analysis of electrochemical noise techniques, both of which require an electrically conductive solution for accurate measurements. The active element of a Microcor probe is measured to an 18 bit resolution, or 262,144 probe life units. This compares to the 10 bit resolution (1000 divisions) of an ER system. As a result of the proprietary design of the probe and the electronics, the Microcor measurement system is much less sensitive to fluctuations in temperature. The Microcor probes are available in two element forms, flush and cylindrical. Flush probes are suited for pipelines, where pigging may occur, and for bottom of- line monitoring in oil and gas, or multi-phase flows where typically the corrosive water phase exists. Cylindrical probes with their all-welded construction are suited for more chemically aggressive environments. Therefore, Microcor offers, for the first time, the ability to make rapid, accurate corrosion rate measurements in any environment. Measurements can be made in conductive or non-conductive liquids, brines, gases, under multiphase conditions, underground, or in concrete. Short-term changes in corrosion rate, which would be undetectable with conventional techniques, are clearly visible using Microcor. This makes the technique ideal for process monitoring, process control, inhibitor evaluation, and cathodic protection studies. Two software package options are available. The first option is ICMS3 software that provides complete corrosion management, where corrosion rate data can be plotted in real time in parallel with related process variables such as temperature, pressure, pH, dissolved oxygen, inhibitor concentrations etc. The second option for smaller scale systems is the low cost Microcor Tools Software, which is also available for continuous on-line operation, or for gathering of data from the Microcor data-logging system. The Microcor Transmitter is rated explosion-proof for operation in Class 1 Div 1 to the latest ATEX, UL and CSA standards, and it communicates over an RS 485 Field Bus. This design has the advantage of a more economical field installation cost. A single cable may be used to connect up to 32 transmitters with a single cable run. This single multi-drop cable contains the 24VDC supply to power the transmitters and the RS 485 communication bus. This design avoids the need to run a cable to each transmitter which is required with other designs. For dedicated on-line systems the RS 485 bus is connected from isolating RS 485 cards mounted directly in the monitoring computer. A separate 24 VDC supply is also required to power the Microcor transmitters. See the figure below. For portable computers or those using the normal serial port on a PC, a small enclosure housing a 115VAC to 24 VDC power supply and an RS 232 to RS 485 isolating converter can be supplied to interface the computer to the field connections. See below. A complete transportable test system with a rugged case, in the form of the MK 9300, provides a set up suitable for monitoring the performance of inhibitors in laboratory and field trials.
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