Measuring the corrosion rate with the linear polarisation resistance (LPR) technique in
multiphase flows is oRen impossible in practice because of the high level of electrochemical noise or
because of the non-stationarity of the flows. LPR, electrochemical noise (EN) and impedance
measurements were carried out in oil-brine mixtures to determine polarization resistance R, values,
using three nominally identical electrodes in a flow-loop cell so as to approach in-situ mbnitoring
conditions. The potential of the working electrode (WE) was controlled with respect to the referencc
electrode (RE) with a potentiostat or with respect to the counter electrode (CE) with a zero-resistance
ammeter. It was found that no reliable values of R, could be obtained in the presence of oil with the
former configuration because the potential of the WE continuously drifted and could not remain equal to
the corrosion potential. With the latter configuration, the WE and CE did not work exactly at their
corrosion potential but consistent values of % could be measured with the LPR technique or derived
from the noise resistance or the noise impedance in stationary flows. For non-stationary flows, in which
the electrical continuity between the electrodes was intermittently lost, only the EN technique was able
to provide reliable values of %.