Onshore Infrastructure

Buried pipelines, gas and fluid transmission networks, and metallic foundations are exposed to soil corrosion — a heterogeneous and often poorly understood environment. The variability of soils — composition, water content, microorganisms, pollution — makes corrosion prediction and control particularly challenging. The French Corrosion Institute has recognised expertise and a unique soil laboratory to support onshore infrastructure operators in preventing and managing corrosion risk.

Our missions

  • Characterise soil corrosivity and assess corrosion risks for buried infrastructure.
  • Study the effectiveness of cathodic protection systems and associated coatings.
  • Study the impact of the soil environment and associated coatings on cathodic protection (current demand, interference phenomena, relaxation currents, hydrogen embrittlement risks, etc.).
  • Analyse complex phenomena: stray currents, differential aeration, microbially influenced corrosion.
  • Provide real-time monitoring of corrosion and environmental parameters for buried infrastructure, on site or remotely.

Our services

  • Soil characterisation: water content, resistivity, pH, chlorides, sulphates, texture, assessment in accordance with DIN 50929-3 and NF EN 12501-2
  • Corrosion tests in natural or synthetic soils: coupons, mass loss, localised corrosion
  • Cathodic disbondment tests on coatings in soil environments with controlled water content
  • Cathodic protection study and design
  • Long-term polarisation curves with current-off
  • Assessment of microbially influenced corrosion (MIC), in partnership with Corrodys
  • Real-time corrosion and environmental sensor solutions: custom ER probes, corrosion potential, redox potential, temperature, water content, galvanic coupling, differential aeration… with remote data acquisition
  • On-site exposures in France and across Europe with remote monitoring
  • Finite element modelling (polarisation, interference phenomena and stray currents)