Recirculation loops are used in laboratories to simulate field operating environments power plants, pipelines, steam turbines, deep sea applications, etc.
Recirculation loops offer many benefits:
A large water volume reduces the effects of corrosion products on the water chemistry.
Water flow can be regenerated in ion exchangers, UV-cell and filters.
The dissolved oxygen and hydrogen concentrations, pH and conductivity can be monitored and controlled.
Recirculation loops provide a reproducible and representative test environment needed for the SCC tests.
Special high speed loops are built for applications where the flow rate [m/s] is an important testing parameter.
Recirculation loops simulating power-plant operation provide clean water with specific water chemistry. Special attention is paid to the monitoring of both incoming and outgoing water flows and the removal of dissolved and solid water contaminants. An essential part of the operation is the control of the dissolved oxygen/hydrogen concentrations and maintaining a low water conductivity in BWR and SCW applications.
Loops are used in oil and gas applications to provide a large water volume, which provides stable water chemistry during long test periods. Loops provide high H2S and CO2 partial pressures at high temperatures because the gases are dissolved in the storage tank at low temperatures. Loops are designed to resist corrosive H2S and CO2 gases. The construction materials are often Hastelloy C-276.
Cormet builds steam loops for high-pressure and sub-atmospheric pressure environments where they are used to simulate various kinds of situations in steam turbines.
High-speed loops are built for the simulation of flow-assisted corrosion, the critical heat flux (CHF) tests and the cooling of the heat exchangers or thermal fatigue specimens.
