Professional Documents
Culture Documents
By
1
CONTENTS
1 Introduction 3
5 Backfill Materials 16
11 Conclusions 20
12 Bibliography 21
Introduction
2
The science of cathodic protection (CP) was born in 1824, when Sir Humphrey
Davy made a presentation to the Royal Society of London: “The rapid decay of
the copper sheeting on His Majesty’s ships of war, and the uncertainty of the
time of its duration, have long attracted the attention of those persons most
concerned in the naval interest of the count. ... I entered into an experimental
investigation upon copper. In pursuing this investigation, I have ascertained
many facts ... to illustrate some obscure parts of electrochemical science...
seem to offer important application.” Davy succeeded in protecting copper
against corrosion from seawater by the use of iron anodes. From that
beginning, CP has grown to have many uses in marine and underground
structures, water storage tanks, gas pipelines, oil platform supports, and many
other facilities exposed to a corrosive environment . Recently, it is proving to
be an effective method for protecting reinforcing steel from chloride-induced
corrosion.
• Using sacrificial anodes with a corrosion potential lower than the metal
to be protected
3
• Using an impressed current provided by an external current source
When two metals are electrically connected to each other in a electrolyte e.g.
seawater, electrons will flow from the more active metal to the other, due to
the difference in the electrical potential, the so called “driving force”. When
the most active metal (anode) supplies current, it will gradually dissolve into
ions in the electrolyte, and at the same time produce electrons, which the
least active (cathode) will receive through the metallic connection with the
anode. The result is that the cathode will be negatively polarized and hence be
protected against corrosion. To calculate the rates at which these processes
occur, one has to understand the electrochemical kinetics associated with the
complex sets of reactions that can all happen simultaneously on these metals.
4
Schematic of Galvanic Anode System
and complex surface chemistry at the anode surface. The theoretical current
capacity for a magnesium anode is approximately 2200 Ah kg-1 whereas actual
measured values are in the range of 1200 Ah kg-1.
Alloyingelements (Al, Zn, Mn) have been added to reduce the rapid activation
of magnesium. Magnesium alloy anodes because of their large driving voltage
are principally used in soils, water tanks, and similar high resistance media. In
high conductivity environments, such as seawater, magnesium anodes are
5
generally not recommended because of risk of overprotection and high
consumption rate.
Several factors enter the determination as to how many sacrificial anodes may
be required for a given structure and corrosion problem and the manner of
distributing them with respect to the location where corrosion is occurring. The
anode requirements for a small installation will normally involve the steps
taken in the following examples. For cathodic protection of larger structures
involving use of six or more anodes or an impressed current (rectifier) system,
additional steps must be taken to assure proper functioning of the system, i.e.,
6
proper distribution of the anodes, prevention of damage to other buried metal
work, design of an economic system, and proper operation and maintenance.
Given: A pipe of 25000ft and 3/4ft diameter. The soil resistivity is given as
800ohm-cm.Structure to environmental resistance is 30ohm-ft2.The steel
coating on the structure is considered poor and the cost of the power is
4.5cents/kWh.
Wanted: 1.The surface area of the component to be protected.
2. Current requirements for protection.
3. Number of anodes required to protect the structure.
4. Lifetime of anodes.
5. Cost requirements for the system.
Solution: 1. Area of the structure,A= 2πRh = πDh
Therefore A=3.14*0.75*25000
A=58904.86 ft2.
2. since the coating of steel is poor, from the table provided in the
Design sheet problem(page 2 in the given handout)
We get ip=0.15mA/ft2.
Since I=ip* total structure area (A),
We get I=0.15*10-3*58904.86
=8.83A
The current required for protection is 8.83A.
3.The working potential for anode
(from Galvanic Anode Specs)EA =-1.45V
The protection potential, Eprot=-0.85V (from the National
Association of Corrosion Engineers specification for buried utility
pipelines).
With the help of the above calculated values the maximum
tolerable circuit resistance(R) is evaluated.
7
0.1589 8L
Ra = ρ 2.3 log 10 − 1
L d
where Ra = resistance in ohms of the anode
ρ = resistivity of soil
L = length of anode in cm
d = diameter of the anode in cm
while considering the diameter of the anode the backfill is also
considered.
0.1589 8 * 152 .4
* 800 *
2.3 log 10 −1
Therefore Ra = 152 .4 15 .24
RA = 2.817 ohm
E A − E prot
Electronic current through the circuit,I =
R1 + R2 + R3 + R4
8
−1.45 + 0.85
⇒ RHS :
− 5.09 * 10 −4 = 0.06744
8 . 83
2.817
⇒ LHS : n = = 41 .76 ≅ 42
0.0674
Hence, I= 8.878A
4.Now each anode generates a current of I=8.8/42=0.22A
dm 1
But I= nF
dt Aw
dm IAW
⇒ =
dt nF
=(0.22*24.805)/(2*96500)
=2.77*10-5g/s
dm dm
But actual=80% over theoretical
dt dt
= 1.8*2.77*10-5=4.986*10-5g/s
( M anode )
life of the anode would be t= dm
dt actual
= 4170/(4.986*10-5)
=83618534.66s
=2.65 years.
The life time of each anode is 2.65 years.
9
of the project , we take the discount rate as 4%.
Since the structure is obsolete after 30 years and the lifetime of
each anode is 2.65 years we need to replace the anodes 12 times
for the lifetime of a structure.
The following is a generalized formula between present and
future cash flows:
( Fn )
PV =
(1 + i ) n
which states that present value (PV) of a future cash flow (Fn)
after (n) time periods equals the future amount (Cn) discounted to
zero date at some interest rate (i).
Based on the above formula the cost for each replacement has
been calculated and tabulated below.
10
source there is no need for the anode to be more active than the structure to
be protected. There are basically three types of anode materials:
Given: A pipe of 25000ft and 3/4ft diameter. The soil resistivity is given as
800ohm-cm.Structure to environmental resistance is 30ohm-ft2.The steel
11
coating on the structure is considered poor and the cost of the power is
4.5cents/kWh.
Wanted: 1.The surface area of the component to be protected.
2. Current requirements for protection.
3. Number of anodes required to protect the structure.
4. Lifetime of anodes.
5. Cost requirements for the system.
Solution: The impressed current calculations are basically the same as the
galvanic anode calculations except for the potentials that have to be
considered since this involves an external power supply. Therefore we get
A=58904.86 ft2
3. Now assume back voltage as 2V and also that the rectifier voltage
we get I=(7-2)/(RA/n+R2)
Backfill cost=$100
12
Total cost of anode=5*600=$3000
Rectifier cost=$1000.
Power=voltage(V)*Current(I)
=7*8.88=62.16W
=544521.6Wh
=544.521kWh
=4.5*544.5216
=$24.5
=24.5[1+(1.04)-1+…………+(1.04)-24]
=24.5{[1-(1.04)-25]/[1-(1.04)-1]}
=$398.05.
=($3000+$1000+$398.05)
=$4398.05
for the second installation will only include the cost of anodes
=28.5*(1.04)-25*{[1-(1.04)-5]/[1-(1.04)-1]}
=$49.49
13
the total cost for the second installation=$3000+$49.49
=$3049.49
=$7447
cost/year=$7447/30=$248.3
comparatively less.
cost/year=$185
3.Groundbed Design
For underground structures requiring cathodic protection, the location and
nature of the site where the anode is placed needs careful consideration. A low
soil resistivity, which would otherwise be classified as a highly corrosive soil, is
not the only factor which determines the location of the anode. Other factors
14
to be considered include the presence of foreign metallic structures,
accessibility and availability of a power source. The location which is
specifically prepared to house a single or a combination of anodes is called a
groundbed.
15
different from that described for impressed anodes. A typical backfill
contains a mixture of clay and gypsum. The function of this chemical
backfill to provide conditions favorable to anode dissolution. It also
helps to reduce the groundbed resistance. Groundbed resistances can be
calculated using the same procedure adopted for impressed current
anodes. Individual galvanic anodes in a horizontal groundbed are
generally not used. For this type of groundbed a continuous galvanic
anode strip is found to be practical.
4.Backfill Materials
The type of backfill used in a groundbed depends on whether the cathodic
protection system is sacrificial or impressed.
16
Particle size and shape are also important when specifying a backfill. Both
parameters determine the contact area between anode and earth whilst
influencing the porosity of the column which is important for gas ventilation. A
general purpose coke breeze is for use in shallow horizontal and vertical
groundbeds. It has a resistivity of 35 cm. For deep well applications a
special calcined petroleum coke breeze is available. It has a resistivity of 15
cm and can be pumped.
17
• Bulkiness may impair smooth flow.
• Can be bolted or welded directly to protecting surface avoiding any
perforation.
• Connecting members are also protected.
• No misconnections.
18
8.Comparison of Impressed Current Anodes
19
Galvanic Impressed current
anode anode
Material Mg alloy cast silicon iron
Length(ft) 5 5
Diameter(in) 2 2.2
surface area to be
protected(ft2) 58904.86 58904.86
current required for
protection(A) 8.8 8.8
number of anodes 42 7
weight of each anode(kg) 4.17 29.414
lifetime of each anode(years) 2.65 30
total cost of the system($) 90961 5569.92
cost/year($) 3032.03 185
10.Conclusions
After the design calculations we have come to the conclusion
that the impressed current cathodic system is much cheaper than the galvanic
anode protection system. Also it has been found that by considering a rectifier
of lower potential the lifetime of the anodes considerably increased and hence
the cost/year is also reduced in the case of impressed current cathode
system.The number of anodes involved in the case of impressed current is also
very less in comparison to the number of anodes involved in the galvanic anode
system for the same structure.
11.Bibliography
20
1.R.Heidersbach,”cathodic Protection”,p.467 in Metals Handbook,9th. Ed.,Vol.13,ASM
International, Metals Park,OH,1987.
2. www.sam-gong.co.kr/
3. www.corrosion-doctors.org/
4.Steven F.Daily,”Understanding Corrosion and Cathodic protection of Reinforced Concrete
Structures”,Corrpro Companies,Inc.
5.http://nace.org/
6.H.Uhlig and R.W.Revie,”Corrosion and Corrosion Control”,John Wiley,New York,1985.
21
22