Patent ID: 8224595

Claim:
A method for online monitoring of molten salt corrosion of a high temperature component of an apparatus, the method comprising: exposing a portion of a first electrode and a second electrode to a corrosive operating environment of an apparatus, wherein said first electrode and said second electrode are disposed within a component of the apparatus and electrically isolated from each other by an insulating material, said first and second electrodes being electrically coupled such that when an electrical potential difference exists between said first electrode and said second electrode an electrical current flows between said first electrode and said second electrode; measuring at least one of the electrical potential difference or the electrical current flowing between said first electrode and said second electrode; and analyzing the at least one of the measured electrical potential difference or the measured electrical current to predict a corrosion characteristic of said component, wherein the electrical potential difference between said first electrode and said second electrode is based at least in part on molten salt corrosion at said first electrode or said second electrode.