Electrical resistance probe: an online monitoring device with a thin metal element exposed to the process. As the element corrodes and thins, its resistance rises, and the instrument compares it with a shielded reference element to cancel temperature effects. ER probes work in gas, oil, water and soil, show metal loss within hours to days, and are used up once the element is gone.
ER probe on the gas line jumped from 2 to 15 mpy after the inhibitor pump tripped.
Also heard as
- electrical resistance probe
- ER
Related terms
LPR
Linear polarization resistance: an electrochemical method that reads corrosion rate in minutes in conductive liquids.
Corrosion coupon
Weighed metal strip exposed inside a system for a set time, then reweighed to calculate corrosion rate.
mpy
Mils per year, the US corrosion rate unit: thousandths of an inch of metal lost per year.
Corrosion inhibitor
Chemical added in small doses to a fluid to slow corrosion of the metal it touches.