Essay on Cathodic Protection System

Deep Well Anode Groundbed for Pipeline

Prepared by: Hussain Abdullah Al Khumairi

Trainee Mechanical Engineer At Al Shaikh Factory and Company for Cathodic Protection
Introduction: Cathodic protection is necessary for the buried pipeline to prevent corrosion at the external surface of structure.
as the soil can be highly corrosive and can cause significant damage to the pipeline over time. Cathodic protection is an effective
way to protect buried pipelines from corrosion and extend their lifespan.

Deep Well Anode Groundbed: The principle of impressed current used in deep groundbed systems is driven from an
electrochemical cell, as shown in Figure 1. Deep well anode systems are installed to distribute current in order to provide cathodic
protection against corrosion, as shown in Figure 2. To create an effective groundbed, one or more anodes are installed in a vertical
position at a depth of 15 meters or more below the earth's surface.

Fig1: Electrochemical Cell Fig2: Deep well anode system

Vertical groundbed: Deep well anode ground bed installation is an important part of a permanent cathodic protection system.
The anode ground bed consists of mixed metal oxide (MMO) tubular anode that is assembled on a vent pipe with the help of
support rope and cable ties, and then lowered into the deep well with an end weight and backfilled with coke breeze as shown
in figure 3. Before beginning the installation process, necessary permits from local authorities must be obtained for deep well
hole drilling, and maximum allowable depth restrictions from ground water protection department (or other competent
authorities) must be followed. The spacing, depth, dimensions, and other distances of the installation are subject to site
requirements and exigencies.

fig 3: Deep Well Anode Groundbed

DEEP WELL DRILLING INSTALLATION:
1. Marking the location as per the finalized design is the first step.

2. The drilling rig and auxiliary equipment will be positioned in accordance with the approved layout plan, mix bentonite with
water to start the drilling process (ratio of water to bentonite according to manufacturer's recommendation), see fig 4.

3. Start drilling process, once reached 6 m depth, A 10” PVC casing pipe of 6m length shall be installed for well head works as
shown in fig 5.

Fig 4: mix bentonite with water. Fig 5: 10” PVC casing pipe

DRILL STEM RESISTANCE TEST

The drill stem resistance shall be measured every 6m depth in progress to determine the conductance of the ground bed layers
using the 3-pin method. An earth resistance meter shall be used for the measurement The drill stem shall be considered as the
first pin (C1) and the second pin (P2) should be fixed at 62% of the drilled depth and the third pin (C2) should be fixed at 100%
of the total drilled depth see figure 6 &7 . The earth resistance meter should be put in 3 pole mode and this process should
continue until the whole drilling is complete.

fig 6: Schematic of three-pin method

Fig 7: three-pin method
Note: If the measured drill stem resistance indicates that the anode bed resistance will be higher than the maximum allowable
design resistance, the designer should be consulted. In such cases, additional anodes or anode holes may be necessary.
Alternatively, the anode configuration may be changed.

INSTALLATION OF MMO ANODES

1. Anode centralizers must be inserted on each MMO tubular anode with 1C, 10mm2 Kynar/HMWPE tail cable.

2. The distance from the first anode to the bottom of the deep well, as well as all anode-to-anode distances, shall be as per the
installation detail drawing.

3. The anode tail cables and 1” vent pipe shall be tied to polypropylene rope (with end weight at the bottom) using cable ties at
every 1m as shown in figures 8 &9.

Fig 8: Assembly of Anode Groundbed

4. The anode vent pipe rope assembly shall be carefully lowered into the casing pipe as
shown in figure 10.

5. The coke breeze should be mixed in slurry form in a container and pumped inside the
casing as shown in figure 11.

6. The pumping hose should be placed inside the well to pump the slurry from the lower.

7. The slurry should be pumped to a height (as per design) to have the active anode
column of sufficient length.

8. Once this is done, the pumping hose should be retrieved from the well and the deep
well should be left as it is for 12-24 Hours, to set so that the coke breeze will fall, and
water will come out from the vent pipe.

9. The top layer of the active column should then be filled with natural soil.

10. The top layer of the active column should then be filled with natural soil and the top
of the drill hole should be secured in concrete foundation with uPVC casing as outer
jacket for 2m depth from ground level.

Fig 9: End weight

 Fig 10: installation of Anode groundbed Fig 11: pumping coke breeze

Problems Faced: During the drilling process was a hydrostatic test that caused one of the valve chambers near the drilling
location to overflow, see figure 12. This caused water to become close to the drilling rig, which could have a significant impact
on the balance due to the saturated soil with water.

Fig 12: overflow of chamber

Solution: It is essential to prioritize safety first, so the drilling process is stopped until the test is finished. Additionally, a border
was created around the drilling location by using sand to prevent water from entering.