In high-risk industrial applications—ranging from CO₂ injection wells and sour refinery units to chemical reactors and geothermal systems—material degradation by corrosion is a critical design and operational challenge. Engineers are often tasked with selecting cost-effective alloys that can withstand aggressive environments, yet their decisions are frequently constrained by incomplete data or overly conservative assumptions. Existing corrosion prediction tools often lack thermodynamic rigor, cover only a narrow subset of materials, or fail to address environments where water is not the dominant solvent.
To bridge this gap, OLI Systems’ V12.5 release extends the Mixed Solvent Electrolyte (MSE) Corrosion Framework with five new alloys, enabling first-principles corrosion prediction in non-ideal, mixed-solvent, and water-lean environments. This enhancement allows for robust modeling of real-world scenarios such as supercritical CO₂ corrosion, acid/chloride attack in refinery units, and complex geothermal brines—environments where traditional models provide limited or unreliable guidance.
By integrating thermodynamic speciation with electrochemical kinetics, OLI’s model delivers quantitative corrosion rate and localized corrosion potential predictions for alloys that matter most to modern industry. This advancement supports smarter material selection, lifecycle optimization, and integrity management across sectors.
The Challenge: Predicting Corrosion Where Water Isn’t the Solvent
Subheadline: Corrosion Chemistry Has Evolved—Has Your Model?
What if you’re designing materials for supercritical CO₂ pipelines, concentrated acid plants, or chemical reactors with low water activity? Traditional corrosion prediction tools falter in these environments. Why? Because they assume a water-rich solvent, and their accuracy depends heavily on that assumption.
If you’re in upstream oil and gas, refining, CO2 transport and injection, or chemical processing, you’ve likely faced this dilemma. Can 13Cr tubing handle this CO₂ injection scenario? Will Alloy 316 survive in an acid/chloride system? Is Alloy 625 overkill in a geothermal system—or essential?
These aren’t just theoretical questions—they’re design-critical decisions. And in many cases, simulation tools leave you guessing.
That’s where OLI’s chemistry-first approach makes the difference.
How OLI Solves This: Expanded Alloy Coverage in the MSE Corrosion Framework
With the V12 release, OLI introduced its Mixed Solvent Electrolyte (MSE) Corrosion Model, built on first-principles thermodynamics and electrochemical kinetics. It was the first corrosion engine of its kind that allowed for accurate predictions in non-aqueous and mixed-solvent systems.
Now, with V12.5, we’re pushing that boundary even further by adding support for five new alloys:
- S13Cr, S15Cr, S17Cr – Martensitic stainless steels used in cost-sensitive CO₂-rich oil and gas wells and CO2 injection applications.
- 316 SS – A widely used austenitic stainless steel in chemical and refinery applications
- Alloy 625 – A high-performance nickel-based alloy essential in extreme conditions like acid service, geothermal, and nuclear
“This release gives engineers the ability to simulate corrosion where other tools can’t—even when water is scarce or contaminants are present.”
This addition unlocks new use cases across the entire asset lifecycle, from design and material selection to real-time operational decisions and life-cycle extension.
Why OLI is the Only One Who Can Do This
Subheadline: Going beyond empirical models and assumptions. Grounded in chemistry.
Unlike many corrosion models that rely on empirical charts or user-supplied speciation, OLI’s platform performs full thermodynamic and electrochemical calculations.
- Competitor tools often only cover a limited subset of alloys.
- Other tools require manual speciation input—which is error-prone and incomplete.
- OLI uniquely handles mixed-solvent, water-lean, and non-ideal systems with high accuracy.
Because OLI calculates the real chemistry between phases, the corrosion model can provide reliable predictions for both general and localized corrosion in complex environments. That means you get both real chemistry representation and predictive power, instead of relying on rules of thumb or legacy NORSOK curves.
Why This Matters for You
With these newly supported alloys, OLI V12.5 empowers engineers across multiple sectors:
✅ Upstream Oil & Gas – Simulating CO₂ Corrosion in Water-Lean Systems
Designing for CO₂-rich wells with minimal water? OLI allows you to model 13Cr alloys directly—testing whether they meet corrosion resistance requirements or if more expensive materials are needed.
✅ Corrosion Planning for CO₂ Transport and Injection
CO₂ transport lines could face high-acidity environments due to the reactions within impurities like NOₓ, SOₓ, H2S, H2O, O₂ among others. OLI lets you simulate how the level and combination of species that can trigger corrosion, helping you avoid overspecification—or worse, under design.
Example: Pipeline engineers can simulate if switching from carbon steel to 13Cr is warranted based on CO₂ purity and water content.
✅ Refining – Predictive Corrosion in Acid and Amine Units
Refineries often deploy 316 SS or Alloy 625 in sour water strippers, HF alkylation, and CDU overheads. Now, you can simulate these materials’ behavior in actual plant chemistries instead of relying on charts or static Pourbaix diagrams.
✅ Geothermal – Integrity Modeling in Brine-Heavy, Acidic Systems
OLI can model how geothermal brines with H₂S or CO₂ interact with alloys like 625 or 316. The result? Smarter material upgrades—or cost savings by avoiding overengineering when a cheaper alloy would suffice.
Our Commitment: Precision Chemistry for Real-World Integrity
At OLI, we don’t just build software—we partner with our users to solve mission-critical problems. Whether it’s through corrosion modeling, scale prediction, or chemistry insight, we bring decades of domain expertise and the most rigorous electrolyte chemistry engine on the market.
This release reflects our unmatched commitment to innovation and our vision for electrolyte simulation as a core part of digital transformation in asset integrity.
“We’re not just predicting corrosion—we’re helping prevent failure, extend asset life, and reduce capital spend.”
Our SMEs are scientists and engineers who speak your language. And our technology is the only corrosion modeling engine built on first-principles speciation in complex, real-world systems.
Smarter Choices. Stronger Materials. Greater Confidence.
The release of these new alloys in the MSE Corrosion Framework represents a major leap in capability for materials engineers, process designers, and corrosion specialists alike. Whether you’re working in oil and gas, refining, chemical production, geothermal, or CO2 Transport and Injection, OLI gives you the predictive power to make confident, data-driven decisions.
Ready to See the Impact?
Get in touch to see how OLI Studio V12.5 and the MSE Corrosion Framework can transform your approach to corrosion and material selection.