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60 AUGUST 2017 MATERIALS PERFORMANCE NACE INTERNATIONAL: VOL. 56, NO. 8 CM CORROSION MANAGEMENT T Corrosion failure preemption is one of the most important benefits of a proper corrosion management imple- mentation process. Corrosion failure preemption comprises two main com- ponents: prediction and prevention. Prediction involves identifying where, when, and how a failure is going to happen. Prevention is carried out ei- ther through remedial action to reduce the incumbent corrosion rate or a re- pair/replacement type of action. There are also other factors that contribute to successful failure preemption. Timely and proper corrosion manage- ment applications offer various benefits. One of the most significant is the ability to preempt c orrosion fai lures. Corrosion fai lure pre emption can b e d ef in ed as predicting where, when, and how a failure is likely to happen and then preventing the fai lure b efore it o ccurs. P re vention i s achieved either by a remedial action (i.e., an action that results in the reduction of the component's deterioration rate and thereby prolongs its remaining life) or a repair/replacement before the failure and its consequences must be endured. Proper and efficient corrosion failure preemption could significantly optimi ze corrosion costs by totally eliminating the post-failure costs. 1 Other critical factors that influence efficient corrosion failure preemption are p r o p e r d a t a m a n a g e m e n t , a d e q u a t e communication , and adequate compe- tency levels. Failure and Failure- Preemption Definitions A corrosion failure can be defined as the termination of the ability of a compo- nent (e.g., a pipeline, pressure vessel, or tank) to perform its required function of safely containing a f luid . The following points must be noted with regards to the definition: • The term "corrosion failure" is a gen- eral t erm and includes all failure modes caused by various deteriora- tion mechanisms such as corrosion, e r o s i o n , a n d c o r r o s i o n - r e l a t e d cracking. • A failure does not always equate with a hole or a leak. For example, a com- ponent with a reduced wall thickness below the minimum allowable wall thickness threshold is considered to have failed as well. This is where and when fitness-for-service assessments are required to determine whether a component is still fit for service (and if s o, th en for how lon g ) or has already failed even though it is not yet leaking. Corrosion failure preemption can be defined as predicting where, when, and how a failure is likely to happen and then preventing the failure before it occurs. T h e f o l l o w i n g p o i n t s s h o u l d b e emphasized: • The two main components of the cor- rosion failure preemption process are prediction and prevention (Figure 1). • Prevention is accomplished in two ways: Corrosion Management and Corrosion Failure Preemption a li Mors HE d, Corrosion Engineer, London, United Kingdom