Why Soil Corrosivity Matters
Corrosion of buried metal infrastructure—including pipelines, conduit, and structural steel—can lead to significant failures and costly repairs. Evaluating the corrosivity of soil before construction allows for the application of preventative measures and informed material selection.
Send Us Your Soil Samples
Start your corrosion protection plan today. Project X provides rapid testing and practical engineering support for corrosivity risk mitigation.
Our Testing Program
Project X Corrosion Engineering offers comprehensive soil corrosivity evaluations based on ASTM and Caltrans standards. Our lab analyzes both chemical and physical soil characteristics, including:
- Minimum resistivity (ASTM G57, AASHTO T-288)
- Chloride and sulfate content (ASTM D512, D516)
- pH and redox potential
- Moisture content and texture
- Soil classification (Unified and AASHTO systems)
Corrosivity Rating Criteria
Soils are rated as non-corrosive, moderately corrosive, or severely corrosive based on industry thresholds:
- Minimum Resistivity: < 1,000 ohm-cm is considered severely corrosive
- Chloride: > 500 ppm may initiate pitting corrosion
- Sulfate: > 1,000 ppm can affect concrete and metallic systems
- pH: < 5.5 or > 10 may indicate elevated corrosion risk
Recommendations We Provide
Our reports include project-specific mitigation strategies such as:
- Material selection (e.g., galvanized vs. epoxy-coated vs. HDPE)
- Protective coatings and wraps
- Cathodic protection systems
- Backfill amendments (e.g., sand sleeves, controlled low-strength material)
- Isolation of dissimilar metals