Research on the effect of the pH value on corrosion and protection of copper in desalted water

Purpose The hollow copper wires of the generator are seriously corroded in cooling water. This paper aims to explore the mechanism of copper corrosion by thermodynamic calculation and kinetic experiments and to find out the precise pH range for preventing corrosion of copper in stator internal water and dual internal water cooled generators. Design/methodology/approach Thermodynamic and kinetic studies were carried out for the purpose of preventing the corrosion of hollow conducting copper wires in the internal cooling water. Thermodynamic calculation results demonstrate hollow copper wires electrochemically corroded by oxygen rather than acids (H+) and find out a precise anti-corrosion pH range. Kinetic experiments research on the effect of the pH value and oxygen concentration on corrosion and protection methods of copper in desalted water. Findings Research results demonstrate that, in the internal cooling water, hollow copper wires are electrochemically corroded by oxygen, rather than acids (H+). The method of preventing copper from corrosion in the desalted water is to control the pH value of the stator cooling water and the dual water inner cooling water between 7.86-8.86 and 7.86-9.26, respectively. Originality/value The thermodynamic calculation and potentiometric-pH diagram are used to obtain the accurate pH range of the inner cooling water and inner cooling water in the inner cooling water system. The kinetic experiments provide data support for the effect of temperature, pH value and oxygen concentration.