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Lecture Cathodic Protection

Cathodic protection is a technique to control corrosion of metals by making the metal the cathode of an electrochemical cell. This involves connecting the metal to a more easily corroded "sacrificial metal" anode. The anode then corrodes instead of the protected metal. There are two main types of cathodic protection systems - galvanic anode systems which use electrochemically active metal anodes, and impressed current systems which use a rectifier to power protective currents for large structures. Proper design of a cathodic protection system requires determining protection criteria, selecting anodes, measuring resistivity, and ensuring adequate current output over the design life.

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151 views

Lecture Cathodic Protection

Cathodic protection is a technique to control corrosion of metals by making the metal the cathode of an electrochemical cell. This involves connecting the metal to a more easily corroded "sacrificial metal" anode. The anode then corrodes instead of the protected metal. There are two main types of cathodic protection systems - galvanic anode systems which use electrochemically active metal anodes, and impressed current systems which use a rectifier to power protective currents for large structures. Proper design of a cathodic protection system requires determining protection criteria, selecting anodes, measuring resistivity, and ensuring adequate current output over the design life.

Uploaded by

Noman Raza
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Cathodic

Protection
Cathodic Protection
• Cathodic protection is an approach which is
employed to control the corrosion that
occurs on the surface of the metal by making
it the cathode of an electro-chemical cell.
• This procedure is quite simple which
involves the connection of the metal to be
protected, to a more easily corroded metal
which is usually called the “sacrificial
metal” to act as the anode.
• This sacrificial metal then corrodes instead
of the protected metal.
Types of Cathodic
protection
Galvanic Anode
• In this type, a galvanic anode which is an
electrochemically active metal, is attached to the
endangered metal surface where it is exposed to an
electrolyte.
• Galvanic anodes are chosen because they have a
more active voltage, which means that they have
more negative electrode potential than the metal of
the target structure (which is generally steel).
• The galvanic anode keeps corroding until the
anode material is fully consumed and eventually it
must be replaced.
IMPRESSED CURRENT SYSTEMS

• When galvanic anodes are used for structures that


are larger in size and have high electrolyte
resistivity, they can’t drive enough current
economically to provide protection.
• In these cases, impressed current Cathodic
protection (ICCP) systems are used which have a
much longer life span than the galvanic anodes.
• These systems include a rectifier that converts the
AC power source to a DC, which is properly
calibrated to provide the required protection
DESIGN OF CATHODIC
PROTECTION SYSTEM
PROTECTION POTENTIALS
In practice, the structure-to-electrolyte potentials are
measured using a standard reference electrode based on
copper/copper sulphate, silver/silver chloride, or pure
zinc.
The reference electrode should be very close to the
surface whose potential is being measured.
For steel in an aerobic electrolyte of nearly neutral pH a
commonly accepted protection potential is -850 mV;
when exposed to sulphate-reducing bacteria a potential of
–950 mV would be required. Both values are referred to
a copper/copper sulphate electrode. Results of a
laboratory determination of the protection potential for
steel are shown in Figure
CURRENT DENSITY
• The current density required to maintain the
protection potential is very dependent on local
conditions.
• Increased availability of oxygen at the surface of
the metal will directly increase current density.
• Increased availability of oxygen may occur because
of increased concentration of oxygen in the
environment, increased water flow or turbulence.
Thus, current densities to structures in sea water,
rivers, etc are likely to vary continuously.
• The pH of the environment will also be important.
The presence of coatings, marine fouling, and
calcareous deposits will have a profound effect on
current density.
• Some typical values of current density for steel are
shown in Table 5.
COATINGS
• The provision of an insulating coating to the
structure will greatly reduce the current demand
for cathodic protection.
• When first applied, coatings will often contain
flaws, and in service, further defects will develop
over a period of time.
• The conjoint use of coatings and cathodic
protection takes advantage of the most attractive
features of each method of corrosion control.
ANODE BACKFILL
• The anode used for cathodic protection is not in
direct contact with the soil in which it is buried.
• The reason is that the soil contains many
minerals and other chemicals that might affect
the anode and therefore decrease its
effectiveness.
• One of the harmful effects that might be caused
by minerals is the buildup of high-resistance
films on the surface of the anode, thus
hampering its conductivity.
Some common backfill materials include:
i. Coal coke breeze
ii. Petroleum coke breeze
iii. Bentonite clay
iv. Gypsum
v. Sodium sulfate
ANODE BACKFILL
BACKFILL
CHOICE OF CATHODIC PROTECTION
SYSTEM
In the design of a cathodic-protection scheme, a
decision must be made as to whether the scheme
should be a sacrificial anode or impressed-current
system or a mixture of the two systems.
Sacrificial anode systems have the advantage of
being
(a) simple to install,
(b) independent of any source of electric power,
(c) suitable for localised protection,
(d) less liable to cause interaction on neighbouring
structures
ANODE RESISTANCE

• One of the most important parameters in the


design of cathodic protection systems is the
electrical resistivity of the environment.
• Resistivities encountered for pipeline
environments vary from 1 ohm cm for brackish
river water to greater than 500,000 ohm cm in non-
porous granite.
Measurement of the resistivity of the environment
and calculation of the electrical resistance between
the anodes and the structure due to the electrolyte
must be made at an early stage in the design of the
scheme to ensure that adequate current output will be
obtained from the anodes over the design-life of the
structure (by application of Ohm’s Law).

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