Click here to open Corrosion Investigator in another window.
The first thing you will see is the Welcome page.
Click on the picture to go to the Challenge page.
The Challenge page tells you that you are hired by Patriot Chemical Co. to investigate corrosion problems the company is having. Your task is to come up with a report describing the nature of the problems as quickly and cost-effective as possible.
Click to go to the Reference page.
This is the Reference page. Here, you can find out background information about the company and pipe corrosion. There are two places in the pipeline having corrosion problems. One is near checkpoint 3 and checkpoint 4. The other is near checkpoint 9 and checkpoint 10.
Now you have to run some tests on the pipe water to find out the cause of the corrosion. Click at the top of the screen to go to the "lab".
This is the lab page. The left side displays the test results you have received so far. The Test Results area displays the test results in a readable manner, typically a table with labeled columns and rows. The Notebook area records all the test results as a list of individual pieces of evidence. You'll use these to create your report. The right side is where you select tests to run. You can look for tests by entering test names into a textbox under the Test label. (The designer of this module decided to use a textbox instead of a pull-down menu).
Let's assume you think sulfate reducing bacteria (SRB) is the cause of the problem. Since sulfur is an indicator of SRB, you want to know how much sulfur is in the water. To check for presence of sulfur, type in "sulfur" in the Test textbox and click . The system will show you a description of the Water Chemistry test. To run the test, click . A page will appear where you can specify the parameters for the test.
You need to specify where you want to take your water samples. You can either click on appropriate checkboxes, or click to see a schematic layout of the pipeline.
One of the corrosion problems occur at checkpoint 3 and checkpoint 4. So you click numbers 3 and 4, and . The window will close and you will see that checkpoint 3 and 4 have been checked.
Now you need to test for sulfur. You pick H2S and SO4. The Total Cost and Delay field update to show that the test will cost you $400 and 3 days (in simulated time). You need to enter your reason for ordering the test, for example, "sulfur implies sulfate reducing bacteria." Then you click . After that, you will see a dialog box telling you that your test results will be ready in 3 days.
To receive test results, click at the top of the screen. This advances the system date to the time when the most recent ordered test results are available. The new test results will appear in both the Notebook and Test Results areas on the left side of the Experiment page.
Reviewing the results, you realize that the high amount of SO4 at checkpoint 4 indicates that SRB could be in the pipe, which may be the cause of the corrosion. To add this to your report as evidence for your diagnosis, click in at the top of the screen. This will lead you to the Report page.
The left side of the Report page is the Notebook area. The right side of the page is a report describing your diagnoses of the corrosion problems. Previously, a diagnosis and two pieces of supporting evidence have been entered. To add new evidence, find the test result at the end of the list in the notebook and click on it. Then click . A window will appear asking why this evidence implies the diagnosis. Type in your reason, for example, "high concentration of SO4 indicates that SRB grows well in the pipes." The reason along with the test result will appear at the end of your report on the right side of the page. If you are doing this module in a real class, you can type in your email address in the Email Address area and click to submit your report.
Your supervisor can review your work, including tests you have run, reasons for running the tests, and the report you have constructed, and add comments. Click at the top of the screen to see what these comments are. You can respond to the comments by clicking on the Respond link.
When you want to leave the system, click at the top of the screen.