ABSTRACT
This chapter is concerned with essential minutiae of the procedures for performing corrosion tests. Tests are required to provide information validating the suitability of metal products for corrosion-resistant service. Pilot tests are used to evaluate or compare new materials selected for modifications to existing plant or new constructions. The essence of tests for stress-corrosion cracking is to load a sample in crack opening mode and expose it to a solution of the specific agent. Accelerated tests are out of the question because changes in environment or temperature change the nature of the oxide and its relation to the metal surface on which protection depends. The best approach is the use of long-term exposure or pilot tests in which test pieces are exposed to the environments that the material will experience in the field. The procedures to be followed are usually self-evident and comprise supporting test pieces in positions corresponding to those envisioned for application of the material.
