National Power and Energy Conference (PECon) 2003 Proceedings, Beagi, Malaysia 366 Cathodic Protection System 'S.M, Bashi, Member, IEEE, N. F. Mai Absiact-Cathodie Protection System (CPS) is used to reduce corresion by minimising the diference in potential between anode and cathode, This cen be achieved by applying current to the structure to be protected from electrical Source. When enough current is applied, the wholes Will be atone potetil, thus anode and eathode ‘exists. CPS is commonly used on many types of structures ‘such as pipelines, underground storage tans, laeks and ship hulls The main objective of this work Is to discuss and compares the to methods of applying eathodic protections by sing an Impresed current system and sarifilal anode. The physical models were ato developed forthe two methods. The Importance of controling the protective eurren in the sytem Ie presented and discussed. Calculated and_ measurement results forthe two methods Rave been presented In this paper "Measurement of output current were taken each week showed there Is a decrease In the required cuprent according to we due to reduced of anode surface during the life of the coatings, 1 INTRODUCTION In principle, cathodic protétion can be used for ¢ variety of application where a meta is immersed in an aqueous solution of an electrolyte, which ean range from tclatively pure water 0 soils and to solution of acid. Whether the method is applicable wil depend on many factors. It should be emphasized that as the method is electrochemical both the structure to be protected and the node used for protection must be in both metalic and electlytic contac. Cathodic protection cannot be applied for controlling atmosphere corosion becuse ir not feasible to immerse fan anode ina thin condensed film of moisture of rainwater’s droplets, The complenty ofthe systems to be protected and. the variety of techniques available for cathode protection are in direct const tothe simplicity of the principles involved. At present, the application ofthis method of conosion protection remains more of an fxperience of the practitioner rather than & science. A properly designed cathodic protection system wall be both ‘economical and effective. On the other hand, a incorrectly designed scheme wil not be sulficent nor economical and under certain cifcumstances may accelerate conosion instead of contolling it.- Many different studies have been carried out to improve this eathodic protection mainly in the chemical Side and the types of anodes, Other researchers consider on the elecscal variables and ther calculation Faveto and Osell [1], have used mametical simulation to caleulate the euzent induced in a buried pipeline due 0 magnetic storm. While Seri, Salama and Gebotys [2 suggested new techiques for optimal design of cathodic protection system in which they tried 10 minimize the cost ff sterifiil anodes, For simplicity they considered linear system in hei study. Sen [3] has formulated anew foula 0-7803-8208.0/03/$17.00 ©2003 IEEE. Member, IEE !and M. A, Mohd Radzi, Member, IEEE based on the national institute of standards and technology data to estimate the comesion rate due environmental factors and soil type. He also discussed on how to design proper cathodic protection system to minimize the cortosion of underground stel structure, BI Ghitani and Shousha [4], have implemented the raicroprocessor-based. cathodic protection system which ate able to adjust the protection current sutomstically according to the state of corrosion ofa pipeline. They also used the solar panels fo supply the cathodic system with the requited energy. Il. FACTORS OF CORROSION RATE Most of the corrosion of underground metas is as a result of an electrochemical reaction. Corrosion occurs through the loss of metal ions at anodic areas to the electrolyte, Cathodic areas are protected from corrosion because of the deposition of hydrogen of other ions that carry current, Factors that affect underground corrosion could be listed as soil resistivity, soil pH value, moisture, aeration and others factors Ac Soll Resistivity ‘This depends on the natural ingredient, the amount of salts dissolved inthe soi, and the moisture content. Table 1 fives the relationships between soil resistivity and ‘orosion rte TARLEL SOIL RESISTIVITY AND CORROSION Sar RSE Tips a con ie (hme mets) (ayer) <2 Severely conosve(>13) 1650 Mosentelycomasive (12) si.100 iy coro 9) >100 Low conasive (<4) B. Soil pit Value ‘The main factor that affects corrosion process. The more acidic the soil is, the higher the corrosion rate. This pHt value ranges generally ftom 5 to 10 in soil, PH 7 indicates neutral value, where lower value is considered as acidic and higher value is alkaline, Table 2 shows the relationship of ‘pH and corrosionPHL RANGE AND CORROSION Tere Tiaras | Conan nie Exveniy aid cas Highest Very sory sie sSuso Sonal atid Siss Melamsie Soweo Sig sod Giies Neva S673 Ne shane fata Moderately alin 251084 Seong ative asu90 Vex ney tage ate © Moisture This factor depends on season, location, soil type, round water level and particle size, Corrosion increases ‘with higher moisture contents due to higher salt solubility D. Aeration I is a measure of the availabilty of oxygen to the metal and is dependent on particle size and. distribution, Corrosion increases with te increase of aeration E. Other Factors Factors that are dificult to clasify because they are 2 combination of many factors and include the effect of temperature, bacterial or interference current effects, These factors contribute no more than 10% of the teal corosion rate and in many eases are neglected. UL. COATINGS Coatings are often used for compsion control. The purpose of a barrier coating isto insulate the anode and. cathode of the corrosion cell ftom the environment. By insulating the metalic surface fom the clectolyt, eating, reduces the corrosion reaction fiom ovcusting. Selection of 2 coating for 2 particular application requires detailed Knowledge of the envionment and the type of service, After @ coating is selected, great care must be exercised 10 ‘make certain the costing is properly applied. A coating failure usually occurs due to improper application and not due to a breakdown of the costing material. Surface preparation i ritical to coating performance (2) ‘The proper selection and application ofa coating system will reduce the total metal loss but will not prevent conosion. Unfortunately, outings concentrate Oe corrosion activity atthe imperfections. This intensifies the corrosion and results in peneiations more rapidly than if the structure was uncoated, Electrical insulation is another method of corrosion control that can be used to break the conductor which connects the anode and cathode inthe corrosion protective system 367 Insulating fittings come in many forms which include unions, couplings, flanges and spools. These are most often used tO electrically separate dissimilar metals. insulation only serves to break apart obvious corrosion cells. It will rot prevent local corrosion activity resulting From each metal as difference in oxygen concentrations. IV, CATHODIC PROTECTION Cathodic. protection is the most effective way of protecting underground metal structures. It operates. by stopping the current ow from the metal to the electrolyte boy neutralizing it with » stronger current of opposite polarity from an external source, Two methods basically ‘used in cathodic-protection systems, sacrificial anode and impressed current. AL Secrificial Anode ‘The sacrificial anode technique uses the natural potential aiference that exists between the structure and & second metal in the sme enviconment to provide the driving voltage. No power source is employed and is illustrated as in Fig. 1, Moreover, the dissolution of the second metal ie, the sacrificial anode provides the source of electrons for cathodie polarization of the stricture. While the impressed: current anode may be more noble or more base than the protected structure because the power source force it to act fs an anode, the sacrificial anode must be spontaneously snodic to the structure [5]. In practice, the anode, wie will be on a steel core, can be attached directly to the structure Biko tow sess) Fig 1. Sohemati ingram feats proton wing scifi rae B Impressed Current System Fig. 2 illustrates the use of an external power supply to provide the cathodic polarization of the structure. | The Sircut comprises of the power source, an auxiliary dr impressed current electrode, the corrosive soluion and the strueture to be protected. The power source drives postive ‘current from the impressed current electrode through the corrosive solution and on to the structure.‘The structure is thereby cathodically polarized (its potential is lowered) and the positive current retums ‘through the cieuit to the power supply. Thus, to achieve cathodic protection, the impressed eurrentclectroe and the structure must be in both eleccolyic and electronic contact. Eeonfow Spore] ngeeees crac node in gound bed Fig. 2 Schematic dagam of ethodie protection asng the ineeued ‘The caleuloted value of anode to cathode resistance nd the umber of anodes required could be found 3] as: R,-2| Dal 0) Nn couse Bt ] RL | @ ie o where Ry isthe nodesto-lecvolyte resistance (oti), Nis the number of anodes requted, p isthe resistivity of the water (ohm cm), Lis the length of anode (em), #8 equivalent radius of anode (cm), 2 isthe cross section of ‘ode (em) and dis he dlametr ofthe column (em) ‘The resistance of the anode and conductors are very somal with respect to eletolyte resistance and can be neglected Y. METHODOLOGY A. Sacrificial Anode's Model Design Fig. 3 shows sacrificial anode plan to protect the carbon sel pipe by using zinc as an anode, The zinc anode is welded to the carbon steel pipe by steel rod to provide continuity for the curent flows. The structure is immersed ina saltwater solution to imitate the seawater enviconmen, 368 Fig. 3. Serial anode pan a poset carton tet pee B._ Impressed Current's Model Design Fig. 4 shows the impressed current plan to protect the catbon steel pipe. The model comprises of the de power source, an impressed curent zine anode, saltwater solution and the structure to be protected. The power source drives positive current from the zinc anode through the saltwater olution and to the structure, The structure is thereby cathodically polarized and the positive current returns through the circuit to the power supply. In order to achieve cathodic protection, the zine anode and the cazbon steel pipe must both be electrolytic and electrically in contact. Fig. shows the photo of impressed current modelVI. RESULT AND DISCUSSION ‘The comparison between the calculated and measured value of impressed current system design are shown in the Table 3 below. TABLE? (COMPARISON BETWEEN CALCULATED AND MEASURED \VALUE FOR IMPRESSED CURRENT SYSTEM. Gaines Cinema) | 38 aH Messe Measurement of protective current flows, fom clectolye into the structure was taken every week to'check the variation by time of the current value. Table 4 shows the variation ofthe protective encent with respect to time cunnanraStdvoer oara ve comnnay Wena ise ‘Week 2.13 February) 3s ‘Week 3.27 | Finan) | aa? We ane to watery [ae Weta 3s Wo ng Doe Avode_pedomaice depends on the eco resistivity as well as the anode material and size. For this model, the seawater resistivity value of 309 has a better conductivity than in soils. The 2ine anode that used is suitable for seawater epplication because of its high driving, voltage and low consumption rate Both model used zine anode that act as an auailiany anode that is composed of a metal more active in the Galvanic Series than the structure to be protected, It serves essentially as a source of portable electrical energy. The potential difference of zine with respect to steel is about ~ 1.03V and hence current output per anode is also less. This low voltage is sometiones considered as an advantage over higher impressed voltages in that danger of overprotection, to some portion of the system sls. ‘The curtent output per anode is only 4.98mA, which is sufficient enough to protect the carbon steel pipe. The estimated resistivity value of 300 is selected because ofthe use of saltwater as an electolyte for this model, Total resistance value of 05720 was calculated according to the formula fora single horizontal rod anode (slender type) ‘The impressed current system requites a source of direct current and an auxiliary electrode (anode) located some distance away from the protected stricture. The de source is connected with its poshve terminal 19 the anode and its 36 negative terminal to the structure to be protected. In this ‘way, current flows fiom the electrode through the clectrolyte tothe strvctre ‘The applied voliage of 2V not critica, it needs only be sulficient to supply an adequate current density to all parts fof the protected structure. Observing the calculated and ‘measurement value of current output showed that there is some difference in the value. This is because the calculated values used here were just an estimated valve taking from ‘the appropriate table. Therefore, there could be an inaccurate estimation ofthe values, From the current output line chart, there is a decreased of current output relatively to the time. This is due to the reduced of anode surface during the lite of the system. The dissolving anode must also obey Faraday's law that the wasting of the anode will be proportional 10 the total current delivered. Therefore, a8 the anade dissolves, the resistance it presents to the circuit increased and the current measured decreased, Vil, CONCLUSION ‘Two main methods of cathode protection system, ‘impressed current and sacrificial anode, were presented in this paper. The design for sacrificial anode makes use ofthe corrosive potential for different metals. The current required for carbon ste! pipe is supplied by the corrosion ‘of the zine anode that has & higher positive charge than the protected structure. This electric potential. (voltage) difference causes a greater attraction of negative free electrons tha the ions in the carbon steel pipe. The result is that the 2inc anode gets sacrificed (corrode) and the corzosion process inthe carbon steel pipe is interrupted and hence protected ‘The current measurement for impressed current system indicates the decreased of output current due to anode isslve in the immersed saltwater ‘The calculation principles and measurement of cathodic protection are quite straightforward and based on assumption, However, their application in real systems ig often sufficiently Complex to prelude quantitative determinations. VIL REFERENCES (0) veto and. A. Os, * Numerical simulation of erent indaced by gearumetic some on Boned pipelines: 29 appieaon fo De Ter (2), Pato, Argon, pas vanission rons" JEBE Trantecton on Geoscience and Remote Senin, 0.37, 614619, 0,19, (3) RL'Su Mat Satur, Gedney and AN” Chika" (ptial dain of exh pietn sere power eeinering. pplication in Proc 19% Electncal and Computer Exgneting Conf. 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