designing. Besides, tracer atoms can also monitor the
leakage of fluids as well as the material's tear, wear and
corrosion, etc. Therefore, the tracer atom can bring about
abundant economic benefits.
Take the development of an oil field for example.
Whether
or not an oil field can achieve a long-term steady and high
yield and can enjoy a rational exploitation depends chiefly
on the command of reliable data about the water-absorbing
capacity and change of each layer of the water-injection well.
The application of tracer atoms (radioactive isotopes iodine-
131 or barium-131) can discover the water-absorbing capacity
of each layer of the well, thus providing basis for taking
corresponding sealing or blocking measures.
Further more, the underground oil-conveying pipeline often
suffers from incidents of oil-leakage due to pipe perforated
by corrosion. This not only causes direct economic loss,
but also brings about pollution to the environments and damage
to farmland. The tracer atom ( iodine-131 or bromine-82) can
directly enter the oil pipe along with the oil, and can
accurately locate the leakage point buried deep under the
ground. This method is simple and easy handling, and can
save large quantities of man power, material resources and
time (the conventional check method involves digging in large
area), therefore the economic benefits are very obvious.
Similar principle may also apply to gas-conveying pipeline.
In steel industry, the tracer atoms can be used to monitor
the corrosion of the furnace lining of the shaft furnace, as
the over-corrosion of the said furnace lining may lead to
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