AWWA JAW34920

An innovative, short-term corrosion test has been developed that can predict long-term copper corrosion behavior. When used in a six-day study of uniform copper corrosion in five waters, the test predicted corrosion rates that were in good qualitative and quantitative agreement with known long-term (210-day) results. A second phase of the study examined the poorly understood phenomenon of soft-water pitting. Initial work successfully reproduced soft-water copper pitting in the laboratory using a synthetic water, facilitating future studies of pit initiation and potential remedies. Relative pitting tendencies were predicted using the short-term test, as was the long-term release of the by-products of copper corrosion. Pitting severity increased with increasing pH and duration of stagnation and decreased in the presence of natural organic matter or chlorine residuals. Includes 20 references, tables, figures.