Understanding

Above Ground Tools

ACCA and ACVG

Gord Parker

CTW 2005 – Calgary

 Introduction
• NACE approves 4 tests for determining
Coating Condition
• AC Current Attenuation
• AC Voltage Gradient
• DC Voltage Gradient
• Pearson Method
• ‘old school’
• Note CIS is NOT one of them
• Does not find small defects.
 Introduction
• Before joining the Pipeline / Corrosion
industry, my schooling was Electronics
Engineering Technology.
• This ppt focuses on 2 of the tests ACCA/VG
• Both these inspection techniques are very
electrical in nature and are well explained by
simple Ohm’s law.
 ACCA Introduction
• AC Current Attenuation
• Sometimes called the EM method BUT it doesn’t
do anything really tricky with electromagnetics.
• I personally think RP0502 should have this reworded
• Simply uses Gauss & Faraday’s well proven laws
that the strength of an EM field is proportional to
the current through a conductor.
• Working backwards, knowing the EM strength &
conductor depth, we can calculate the current.
 ACCA Application
• Apply a known and consistent I.
• Measure the current at points along the line.
• Calculate a loss/distance ratio
• Alternately factor in diameter for loss/*area*
ratio to compare different diameters
• More loss/distance = worse coating.
• Current loss can also indicate unknown
connections, insulator and casing problems.
 dB Current
• Expressing current loss as a ratio to current
before the loss is more accurate.
• deciBels are a ratio
• Next chart: Loss 1 = ~1000 mA, 2~400,
and #3~150.
• Loss 1 *looks* much worse but expressed
in dB all are the same. Hence all three
features (T’s to similar service mains) are
the same size/length.
Current Attenuation Graph

3 steps are different

looking in mA but
nearly identical in dB
 Common Problems
• Current goes UP as you walk away from Tx
• Current returning to ground point is sufficiently
concentrated near Tx ground stake to create an EM field
that cancels out some of the EM field on the pipe.
• Returns to normal attenuation after ~100m
• Current fluctuates down the line
• * Can’t GAIN Current walking away from Source
• We are detecting EM fields and they can be distorted by
large metallic objects and other EM fields
• Reduce bonds / bleed-over
• Some places you just can’t take a reading.
• Deep >10-18’ pipes can sometimes be a problem.
Using ‘TrendLine’ function in Excel
 Bad Example #1
Example of current that goes up @ reading #47
Also, survey is using <20mA, small errors look big,
better to use 100mA+
Survey done with locate frequency, not low (ie:4Hz)
 Bad Example #2

Same data but shown on Log vert. axis. Current can’t

go up by any
See how first 60% now looks more even amount, never
compared to linear graph previously. mind double
Segments 0-10 are worse then 10-40
 AC Frequency
• Even through a perfect coating, an AC
signal will bleed off due to capacitive
coupling to the ground outside the coating.
• Higher f = higher attenuation.
 Bad Example #2

Same graph as previously.

In my opinion, the high attenuation near the
beginning is only due to the higher frequency
(remember this was done at a locate freq, not 4Hz).
 Shielded defects …..
• Higher frequency I will bleed off faster.
• Capacitive impedance drops as f
• Remembering we are detecting current loss,
does disbonded coating have a lower
impedance?
• i.e.: does the pipe-coating-dirt model lose
current faster then the pipe-electrolyte-coating-
dirt ? Why ? (the electrolyte isn’t grounded)
 Distribution of current. 1kHz vs. 4Hz
Because of an overall 1A (4Hz)
lower impedance at 1A (1KHz)
higher frequencies, 40mA
current will travel 400mA
down stubs and short
mains (and attenuate

960mA
faster on all runs).
It also bleeds through 900mA
200mA
what are actually
good (DC) insulators.
fault

400mA
Surveying at a lower
frequency will more
accurately mimic
where your CP
current is going.
Low frequencies go to the short
 Troubleshooting Loops
• Current Direction can be seen above
ground without contact.
 Benefits and Strengths
• Easy to operate by one single operator
• No direct contact to ground necessary
• Near DC fault detection signal makes capacitive
effects insignificant
• Low frequency for pipe detection: long distances
• Current Direction facility to enable short
identification
• With addition of earth-frame, often same hardware
can be used for an AC Voltage Gradient survey.
 Benefits and Strengths II
Previously Difficult situations:
• Casings – Now, just check if here is a current loss
• Insulators – If both zones have similar potential,
there could be a question as to if insulator is
shorted. But in Current Mapping, if there is current
getting through to far side piping, there is a short.
• Bonds – large current loss and/or direction reversal
show below grade bonds very easily.
 Difficult Applications
• We are locating current flow and current does not
travel into an open circuit.
• Insulating flanges and fittings (ZapLock, Bell&Spigot,
Dresser) will limit current flow along a length of pipe.
• This is still valuable information to locate these and verifies
their proper operation.
• Congested areas – confusing EM
• Older equipment was subject to 50/60 Hz interference
• Newer circuitry ‘sees’ PCM current through other EM noise.
 The Effect of Insulators
(i.e.: Dressers™, ZapLock, Bell/Spigots in some conditions.)

•• When
Whenlow
jointresistance
goes highconnection
resistance,iscurrent
in effect,
splits
current
unevenly
distribution is uniform
•• PCM
PCMshows
(& CP) 50/50
current
splitdrops
of current
to undetectable level ahead of open
• (Is still protected – potential is maintained, just takes less current)
 Mg Anodes
• Anodes will provide a path to ground for the AC
signals we are detecting (4Hz and locate freqs.).
• It may look like a loss but likely a big one
• Any current this big is a short (casing, other
utility, insulator), so look for 4 Hz somewhere else
as current has to go somewhere. If nowhere else,
is a Mg.
• Amount of signal loss will be proportional to
anode quality / life expectancy.
 Underground Gas Distribution
Short to Water
• Quite prevalent, especially in warmer
climates (water lines more shallow)
• Hard to find without excavation
• PCM method walked technician right to it.
• Picture of site on next slide
Underground Gas Short
 CASE I MSA not
insulated - 875
ma found on
gas serviceline
Area Rectifier - DE
Insulator Anodes used as PCM
110 ma
ground & PCM set
@ 3 amperes output N
94 ma 450 ma 375 ma

DE

475 ma
DE

DE 100 ma

DE

2.60 A 1.60 A
No Signal

2.50 A 600 ma

Typical Mag. anode

- connected
Mainline Insulator DE
2nd Distribution Example
 Transmission Coating Survey
(and bad insulator)
• Started as just a demonstration, no known problems on line.
• Upon connecting transmitter, 85% of signal going in one direction !?!
• Drive to next road crossing (only ~1200m) and had already lost 90%
of remaining current, thus problem is between road and transmitter
• Perform survey towards transmitter, find 2 areas of higher than
average loss
• Found major loss across one point, investigation found a shorted
insulator in underground T connection to foreign compressor site.
• If both systems had similar protection levels, a CIPS may not have
shown any defect.
• If short had gone unnoticed, stray currents could develop causing
problems and/or rectifier power bills /current rating could be higher
than necessary.
Transmission Coating Survey
ACCA Questions ?
 ACVG
• AC Voltage Gradient
• Like DCVG / Pin-to-pin / similar but uses a
transmitter, not the CP DC
• Sizing similar to DCVG
• Empirical testing now underway
 ACVG
• An improvement though is to tightly tune
the voltmeter to the transmitter frequency
• A Fluke® on DC can find other sources:
• Stray current, sacrificial anodes, dissimilar
metals
• A Fluke® on AC isn’t tuned:
• Any AC frequency from ~5 Hz - 25kHz
• 60 Hz.AC currents/faults, telephone/scada noise
 Pool of Potential
Is AC, but at any instant in time, there is a direction.
 ACVG

• Sometimes part of an ACCA tool

• Is a big AC voltmeter
• Voltmeter Leads are the probes
• Results in dB gives very wide dynamic range
• Calibrated amplification reduces a variable
• Consistent lead spacing (a-frame) removes
one other variable
ACVG Receiver Theory
 ACVG
• Faults (on an otherwise good cable) have
been found exceeding 6.8 MΩ
• Very sensitive as it has an extremely high
signal-noise ratio
 AC Voltage Gradient
• Can be part of Current tools
• Becoming very popular
• Extreme sensitivity
• Rejection of interference
• Very accurate location of faults
• typically better then 6"
• Sometimes part of Current Attenuation equipment
• This method deserves to be considered as a solid
tool for integrity and the ECDA process.
 ACVG in Operation

• Both signal
strength and
direction
arrows lead
user to holiday.
• Fault value is
proportional to
holiday size
and soil
resistivity.
• In this case the next fault was quite close (20-30m)
which is why the left side of graph climbs quickly.
• Other cases may show 100s of meters of signal at 30
and under..
 ACVG Tuning
• Older systems used a simple DMM
• Does not tune to any one frequency
• 60 Hz, cable earth faults, telecom noise Rx’d
• Very tight tuning in the signal generator and
receiver effectively increases sensitivity as
it ignores current from other sources
• SNR improves
 • Transversal A-frame dB readings:
ACVG Find 80 (right) and 85 (l)
• dB (from PCM) before fault=
49.85,after= 49.48
• Distance between readings = 15
meters
• 37mB/15m (actually just fault)
• Pipe dia.= 12”/PE in two layers
• Soil res. @fault:817.63 Ohm x m
• Fault size = 60 mm length x 2
mm wide
• Note the higher trans dB reading
on left side that is the same side
where valve station is located
Dig Pictures
 Jordanian Fire Water Line
16”/30yr old
• “We are using this equipment for locating coating defects
on the coal tar epoxy coated pipelines. While doing survey
on the pipeline we got 63 dB microvolt with A-Frame. The
epicenter of the defect was located by taking readings
above and in line with the pipeline and perpendicular to the
pipeline. From all four sides direction of arrow was
indicated towards the defect. The defect location was
excavated.
• “Upon excavation, we could not find bare pipe at this
location. What we found was that the coating has degraded
badly and it has become permeable. This has happened at
two locations.
• “Please advise if the current is flowing through the
permeable coating or there are other reasons.”
Sarvjit Singh
Corrpro Companies Middle East L.L.C
Client : Jordan Petroleum Refinery Company
Sarvjit Singh
Corrpro Companies Middle East L.L.C
Client : Jordan Petroleum Refinery Company
 My Favorite ACCA/VG Story

• 2 mile long distribution main, 25 yr old

• For last 4 years, potentials have been dropping
• Several surveys showed no shorts
• ACCA: in each 100’ span, current was dropping
like a rock but no single point of trouble
• ACVG: BAM… BAM… every 40’
• Had spent 40+ person-hours with no resolution.
In 45 minutes we found and quantified the
problem. The customer could budget digging up
6’ of every 40’ to replace the joint coating.
 Thank You

• Questions?

• Gord Parker, C.E.T.

• Spectrum XLI (Calgary, Alberta)
• 403-585-2397
• gord@spectrumxli.com
• www. spectrumxli.com