Building Water System Failures: Recent Commercial Building Experience with Copper Based Systems

Copper (and its alloys) has been in use for over 5,000 years, and copper and brass piping have been widely used in domestic and commercial water systems since the 1930s. Copper-based components became common in domestic and commercial systems built from the 1960s to the present. Although there is a vast experience base, failures continue to occur due to stress corrosion cracking, dezincification, and other forms of corrosion, design conditions, and workmanship. A handful of case studies to illustrate the root causes of failures of various components in hydronic heating/cooling and potable supply systems are presented. Individual failure analyses will demonstrate corrosion, workmanship, material properties, and design issues that have caused failures of various copper and copper alloy components in service.