Design of a controlled temperature flue gas corrosion probe

The need to determine suitable materials for use in industrial waste heat recovery systems requires assessment of materials degradation in various flue gas environments. Such an assessment generally involves exposing candidate materials to the environments, then analyzing the effects of the exposure conditions. Degradation of materials is related to flue gas chemical composition, temperature, and thermal cycling behavior. Temperature variations, especially atypical thermal cycling, complicate the task of characterizing such phenomena as corrosion rates and corrosion mechanisms. A relatively constant temperature would allow a more accurate determination of the effects of flue gas chemical composition and temperature. In response to this need, a flue gas corrosion probe has been designed for exposure tests of materials. The probe allows materials to be tested at nominally constant temperatures within a wide span of either constant or changing flue gas temperatures. This thesis describes the design, fabrication, and verification of the controlled temperature flue gas corrosion probe system.