Failure Analysis

Chloride Corrosion

Chlorides contribute to the likelihood of an increase in corrosion related sucker rod failures. The corrosivity of water increases as the concentration of chlorides increase. Corrosion inhibitors have more difficulty reaching and protecting the steel surface of sucker rods in wells with high concentrations of chlorides. Corrosion, from waters with high concentrations of chlorides, has the tendency to be more aggressive to carbon steel sucker rods than to alloy steel sucker rods. Chloride corrosion tends to evenly pit the entire surface area of the sucker rod with shallow, flat-bottomed, irregular shaped pits. Pit shape characteristics include steep walls and sharp pit edges.