Corrosion failures of underground, hot water copper tubing have resulted in much litigation in Southern California. Most problems are in apartment and condominium complexes with recirculating hot water but some have occurred where water is not recirculated. Underslab leaks are costly to repair, damage furnishings, and cause great inconvenience to residents.

The absence of corrosion on the cold water lines indicates that factors other than soil conditions alone are responsible. Thermogalvanic corrosion cells have probably been an important factor.

Since most such hot water lines do not fail, criteria to identify unfavorable soil characteristics in advance of construction, or test procedures to identify existing thermogalvanic currents after construction are needed.

Subject
Corrosion failures, Water, Piping, Corrosion cells, Leaks, Tubing, Copper, Electrodes, Soil, Corrosion potential, Electrode potential, Anodes, Thermogalvanic corrosion
Keywords:
thermogalvanic, copper, hot water, soil
© 1991 Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP). All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of AMPP. Positions and opinions advanced in this work are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of AMPP. Responsibility for the content of the work lies solely with the author(s).
1991
Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP)
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