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Updated: Jun 12, 2026

Experimental Protocol to Determine the Chloride Threshold Value for Corrosion in Samples Taken from Reinforced Concrete Structures
Published on: August 31, 2017
Characterization of elemental and structural composition of corrosion scales and deposits formed in drinking water
Ching-Yu Peng1, Gregory V Korshin, Richard L Valentine
1Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Washington, Box 352700, Seattle, WA 98105-2700, USA. cypeng@u.washington.edu
Abstract:
Corrosion scales and deposits formed within drinking water distribution systems (DWDSs) have the potential to retain inorganic contaminants. The objective of this study was to characterize the elemental and structural composition of extracted pipe solids and hydraulically-mobile deposits originating from representative DWDSs. Goethite (alpha-FeOOH), magnetite (Fe(3)O(4)) and siderite (FeCO(3)) were the primary crystalline phases identified in most of the selected samples. Among the major constituent elements of the deposits, iron was most prevalent followed, in the order of decreasing prevalence, by sulfur, organic carbon, calcium, inorganic carbon, phosphorus, manganese, magnesium, aluminum and zinc. The cumulative occurrence profiles of iron, sulfur, calcium and phosphorus for pipe specimens and flushed solids were similar. Comparison of relative occurrences of these elements indicates that hydraulic disturbances may have relatively less impact on the release of manganese, aluminum and zinc, but more impact on the release of organic carbon, inorganic carbon, and magnesium.
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