2019 SAUPEC/RobMech/PRASA Conference

Bloemfontein, South Africa, January 28-30, 2019

Cathodic Protection System Design Framework

Dewald E. Diedericks George van Schoor
School of Electrical, Electronic, and School of Electrical, Electronic, and Eugén O. Ranft
Computer Engineering Computer Engineering Proconics
North West University North West University Vanderbijlpark, South Africa
Potchefstroom, South Africa Potchefstroom, South Africa eugen.ranft@gmail.com
dediederiks@gmail.com George.vanSchoor@nwu.ac.za

Abstract The aim of this article is to establish a cathodic The design of CP systems developed as an art where
protection (CP) system design framework for the corrosion engineers used their skills and experience to
petrochemical industry in South Africa. The CP system design produce satisfactory designs [5]. These skills were later
framework is destined to be used as a guideline when designing combined with using the finite element method to evaluate
CP systems for structures such as tanks, underground
CP system designs. More recently, boundary element
pipelines, and plant areas within the petrochemical industry.
Certain aspects of corrosion and corrosion mitigation are formulations and genetic algorithms have been developed to
addressed in this paper. The research approach and analytical aid in the design and analysis of CP systems [6].
design methods used during the formulation of the proposed This paper proposes a design framework to be used
design framework are discussed. The verification and
validation of the proposed design framework are addressed in
when designing CP systems for the petrochemical industry.
terms of simulated and measured results for an underground The proposed framework is based on the data of two
pipeline network. The simulated results used for verification different case studies. The first being the CP system design
purposes were obtained from computer software utilizing the for a small tank farm and the second, for an underground
boundary element method in determining potential pipeline network.
distributions on the surfaces of protected structures.
The paper is organised as follows. Corrosion and
Keywords Cathodic protection, design framework, corrosion mitigation are addressed in section II while section
petrochemical industry, pipeline network, boundary element. III provides the experimental design for the proposed
framework. The analytical design approach is addressed in
section IV. Results and the discussion of results follow in
I. INTRODUCTION
section V and VI respectively. The proposed design
Corrosion is one of the major challenges faced by the framework is presented and discussed in section VII,
petrochemical industry in modern society. The cost of followed by the conclusions in section VIII.
corrosion is well known in the petrochemical industry as
tens of millions of dollars in lost income and treatment costs II. CORROSION AND CORROSION MITIGATION
are reported annually. Projections to June 2013 indicated
that the total corrosion related costs, direct and indirect, will Corrosion is a natural phenomenon that occurs across the
have exceeded $1 trillion or roughly 6% of the gross globe and plays a major part in the failure of metal
domestic product (GDP) in the USA [1]. structures, especially in the petrochemical industry. All
natural processes tend toward their lowest possible energy
Apart from the economic impact that corrosion has on states and thus corrosion tends to return refined steel
the industry, there is also a social impact. It is reported that products to their lowest natural state, i.e. hydrated iron
corrosion causes great ecological damage to the oxides. The hydrated iron oxides, commonly known as rust,
environment along with the loss of human life [2]. are similar in chemical composition to the original iron
According to a study conducted on available careers in oxide [7].
corrosion mitigation it became apparent that highly skilled
personnel in corrosion mitigation are pursued by employers. Corrosion can be explained as the deterioration of a
While job titles and specific duties vary from one position to material due to the reactions the material has with the
another, cathodic protection (CP) skills are high in demand environment in which it is installed. The material most
[3]. susceptible to corrosion is most often metal.
Electrochemical reactions between the metal and the
Based on the preceding paragraph, it is clear why electrolyte in which it is immersed, i.e. chemicals present
corrosion mitigation is so important in the petrochemical either in the soil and/or water, form corrosion cells. The
industry. In terms of CP skills it is the proper design and corrosion cells formed are responsible for the degradation of
implementation of CP systems that are focused on in this the metallic surface [8].
paper. This article presents a CP system design framework
that can be implemented in general in the design of CP A corrosion cell can be compared to a battery in an
systems for the petrochemical industry. operational sense, and therefore contains the same basic
Due to the electrical nature of the electrochemical cell, elements found in a battery: an anode, a cathode, a
the mitigation of corrosion can be approached from either an conductive electrolyte and a metallic return path for the
electrochemical or an electrical point of view [4]. The use of current. Corrosion can be prevented when one or more of
CP in mitigating corrosion in the petrochemical industry has the elements of the corrosion cell are removed [8].
become common practice in most countries, due to its In the equivalent circuit of a corrosion cell as illustrated
effectiveness when properly designed and implemented. in Figure 1. represents the open circuit potential of the
anode electrode, the open circuit potential of the cathode

978-1-7281-0369-3/19/$31.00 ©2019 IEEE 530

 B. Corrosion potential and current density
Whenever a metallic structure is corroding in an
electrolyte, both the anodic and cathodic half-cell reactions
occur simultaneously on the surface of the metallic
structure. Each of the reactions has its own half-cell
electrode potential and exchange current density. This is an
important statement, as these half-cell electrode potentials
cannot coexist separately on an electrically conductive
surface [11]. Each of the reactions must polarise to a
common intermediate value. This intermediate value is
referred to as the corrosion potential or mixed potential.
Figure 1: Equivalent circuit of corrosion cell [9] As the oxidising and reduction reactions occur on the
surface of a metallic structure, the half-cell electrode
electrode, the effective anode electrode resistance, potentials change accordingly. The polarisation on the same
the effective cathode electrode resistance, and indicates surface will continue until the electrode potentials become
equal at the corrosion potential. At the corrosion potential,
the corrosion current in the circuit.
the rates of the anodic and cathodic reactions are equal and
Corrosion occurs at the anodic areas on the surface of the rate of anodic dissolution is identical to the corrosion rate
the metal structure where oxidation reactions take place. in terms of current density [11]:
Oxidation is normally explained as the loss of electrons by
an atom, molecule or ion. The reactions that occur at the
cathodic areas on the surface of the metal structure are
known as reduction reactions. Reduction is generally
explained as the gain of electrons by an atom, molecule or and are the cathodic and anodic dissolutions
ion [10]. respectively, and the corrosion rate in terms of current
density. With the rate of corrosion well documented at this
To further support the statement that the corrosion stage, the mitigation of corrosion follows. Cathodic
process can be viewed from an electrical perspective, a polarisation is generally referred to as the underlying
better understanding of corrosion from first principles is principle of CP and is discussed in the following section.
necessary. The most important aspects when analyzing
corrosion will present itself in the form of the basic
thermodynamics behind the corrosion process and the C. Cathodic polarisation
corrosion kinetics. The basic thermodynamics of corrosion Whenever an excess of electron flow is applied to a
are used to better understand and analyze the energy corroding electrode, it causes the electrode potential to shift
associated with the corrosion process. negatively [11]. This negative potential shift from the
corrosion potential, , to a potential, , where corrosion
A. Electrochemical kinetics of corrosion will cease, is defined as cathodic polarisation. The cathodic
polarisation, , is given by
Electrochemical reactions either produce or consume
electrons [11]. The proportionality between electron flow
and the mass of metal reacted in an electrochemical reaction
aw [11]: The excess of electrons associated with cathodic
polarisation suppresses the rate of the anodic reaction from
to and similarly increases the cathodic reduction
reaction from to [11]. The difference between the two
reactions must be equal to the applied current, in order
to fulfil the principle of charge conservation:
with the mass reacted, the current in amperes, the
time, the atomic weight, the number of equivalents

can be obtained by dividing (1) by and the surface area

[11]: An excess of electron flow, ,, is applied to a
corroding electrode. The corrosion potential, , and the
rate of corrosion, , as a current density, are defined by
mixed potential theory. The application of an excess
electron flow causes a negative potential shift, , which
causes the anodic ionization rate, , to decrease and the
with the corrosion rate, the surface area, and defined as
cathodic discharge rate, , to increase. This is the
the current density, i.e. . Equation (2) shows the fundamental operation of cathodic protection.
proportionality between the loss of mass per unit area and
current density [11].

531
D. Cathodic Protection
The history of CP is well documented within academic
literature. The first use of CP is generally attributed to Sir
Hump ]. It is generally
accepted in literature that the first use of CP in the
petrochemical industry was documented in the USA around
1950.
The introduction of CP in industry coincided with the
introduction of thin-walled steel pipes for the underground
transmission of oil and gas. The UK followed suit in the use
of CP systems in the early 1950s. CP is a well-established
technology today and is used to protect a wide variety of
underground or immersed structures in the petrochemical Figure 2
industry. current flowing from external source [9]
Cathodic protection is an active form of corrosion
control in which electrons are supplied to the metal structure The flow of current, , forces the original anodic
to be protected [12]. The principle of CP can best be areas on the metal surface to become cathodic with respect
described in terms of polarization. Once the anodic areas in to the external anode. The moment at which the original
the electrochemical cell can be polarized to, or beyond, the anodic areas become cathodic, corrosion is prevented since
potential of the corresponding cathodic areas, corrosion will the metal surface no longer gives up electrons [12].
cease to exist. Two systems are readily used to achieve the
polarization of the anodic areas: III. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN
1) Impressed current cathodic protection (ICCP) The purpose of this section is to explain the
Impressed current CP systems require an external direct experimental approach followed to arrive at a validated CP
current source, which is connected between the external design framework. Analytical design steps are iteratively
anode and the structure to be protected. The external source formulated based on the analytical designs of CP systems
is used to provide the required driving power to the external for a small tank farm and an underground pipeline. The
anode. Generally, a number of external anodes are installed process is continued with iterative verification through
along with an impressed current CP system, referred to as a simulation of both of these cases and completed with
ground bed of anodes. The anode ground bed is forced to iterative validation through measurements on the
discharge as much CP current as is desirable by connecting underground pipeline network. The aim with this iterative
the positive terminal of the external source to the anode process was to arrive at a generalised CP design framework
ground bed. The negative terminal of the external source is for the petrochemical industry.
connected to the structure to be protected. This external
It is expected that different types of anodes are to be
power source is generally referred to as the transformer
used depending on the type of CP system to be
rectifier unit (TRU).
implemented, i.e. SACP or ICCP. The different anode
2) Sacrificial anode cathodic protection (SACP)
ground bed configurations that are generally installed may
Sacrificial anode cathodic protection sacrifices one
require more than one design to fully evaluate the efficacy
metal, referred to as the anode, in order to protect a given
and cost effectiveness of a design. This design approach will
structure against corrosion. Galvanic coupling is used to
therefore require an iterative process to ensure the most
connect the anode to the metal structure. For the anode to
effective CP system in terms of cost and performance.
provide effective protection against the effects of corrosion,
the metal from which the anode is manufactured must be Two case studies were used throughout the development
more anodic than the metal to be protected. No external of the proposed framework. The proposed design framework
power source is present in a SACP system and anodes of a is based on the analytical CP system design for a small tank
high negative potential and current density act as the power farm and an underground pipeline network. The analytical
sources to the system. design of both the CP systems comprised iterative processes
to ensure that the structures are effectively protected by the
A general equivalent circuit of a corroding cell
CP systems designed in each of the case studies.
connected to a CP system is illustrated in Figure 2. CP
systems are synonymous with the implementation of an For the purpose of this paper, design verification was
external anode as illustrated in Figure 2. The external anode achieved through the use of a computer simulation package.
is used to allow current, , to flow from the anode, The simulation package used for verification purposes is
through the electrolyte, to the entire exposed surface area of
the metal structure to be protected. The resistance-to-earth obtained from the simulation package were also used in an
of the external anode is denoted by RA , while EA represents iterative process. The analytical design of the CP systems is
the external power source connected between the external altered based on the results obtained from the simulation
anode and the structure to be protected. package until the relevant CP criteria are met.
Validation of the CP system design framework is
essential to ascertain whether the framework can generally

532
be used as a guideline regarding CP system design within the 1) Surface area calculations
petrochemical industry. The validation of the proposed These calculations are used to determine the surface area
design framework was done using actual measurements of the structure to be protected. The equations used in the
taken from the underground pipeline network. This was the calculations are general surface area equations and depend
only available structure to be used for validation purposes. It on the shape of the structure to be protected.
was d 2) Current requirement calculations
available test points along the underground pipeline while The current requirement calculations are dependent on
various variables. These calculations can become very
points along the underground pipeline.
complicated in cases where the structure is exposed to
varying electrolytes. The type of coating applied to the
IV. ANALYTICAL DESIGN structure has the largest impact on the current requirement
This section is dedicated to the analytical design of CP calculations. The current requirement calculations are based
systems and the required information for the successful on the required potential shift of the material to be
design of CP systems in general. protected. Generally, the current requirement calculation is
the product of the surface area to be protected and the
A. Site survey required current density to cause the required potential shift
Before commencing with the CP system design, it is to cease corrosion.
necessary to gather important information from the site at 3) Required number of anodes
which the CP system will be installed and the structure to be The required number of anodes is generally dependent
protected. A site survey is conducted to acquire specific on the type of anodes that are installed and the type of
detail regarding the structure to be protected and the installation. Manufacturer datasheets for specific anodes are
surrounding environment. The information gathered from used to determine the current output of the anodes to be
the site survey must be factored into the design and typically installed. The required number of anodes to be installed is
include the following [13]: generally calculated by dividing the required current by the
maximum current output of the chosen anodes. It is
From what material is the structure manufactured? considered good practice to take the expected lifetime of the
What is the coating properties of the structure? anodes into account in these calculations.
What is the leak record on the existing line? 4) System life calculations
System life calculations are calculated with the aid of
Are there any changes in the diameter, wall thickness
manufacturer datasheets along with the required current
and weight per meter along the route of the structure?
output of anodes. The number of anodes installed in a
Are test locations and construction details of the test
specific CP system will largely determine the expected life
locations known for an existing structure?
of the anodes along with the current requirement of the
What is the construction method used on the couplers of structure to be protected. It is recommended that coating
the structure, all-welded or mechanical structures? breakdown factors are considered in calculating the
What are the locations of branch taps and purposely expected system lifetime. Including system breakdown
isolating flanges or couplers? factors will ensure that an adequate number of anodes are
Are there route and detail maps of the structure installed for the CP system to protect the structure for the
available? expected lifetime.
Are there any other foreign cathodically protected 5) Grounding resistance calculations
structures in close proximity to the structure? The grounding resistance calculations are required to
Are there any other man-made sources of stray current calculate the grounding resistance of the anodes with respect
in close proximity to the structure? to the electrolyte. Various equations are used for the
At what temperature is the structure operated?
Is AC power available to provide power to a e noted
transformer rectifier unit or is an alternative DC power that the size and type of the anode ground bed to be installed
source required? will influence the grounding resistance calculations.
B. CP system design calculations
given by:
The empirical design of CP systems is presented in this
section. The calculations to be included are based on
equations recommended in standard documents as well as
literature. The design framework used to design CP systems
is based on the following calculations: with the grounding resistance of a single vertical anode
Surface area calculations installation, the specific soil resistivity of the electrolyte,
Current requirement the length of the anode, and the diameter of the anode.
Required number of anodes The resistance of several similar vertical anodes in parallel,
System life calculations can be calculated by [14]:
Grounding resistance calculations
Total circuit resistance
TRU output voltage and power (ICCP)

533
 rized
potential of -
evaluation of the simulation results obtained. This criterion
was chosen for evaluations as the simulation software
package calculates the polarized potential.
with the number of anodes and the distance between the
anodes. The applicable equation to use for the calculation of It has to be noted that two sets of simulation results were
the grounding resistance of a horizontal anode installation generated for the underground pipeline network. The two
(also de given by: sets of results were defined for a newly installed system and
a system that has been in service for 15 years. The system
results for the system in service for 15 years were required
for validation purposes as the underground pipeline was in
service for 15 years at the time the measured results were
obtained for validation purposes.
with the grounding resistance of a single horizontal From the simulated potential distributions presented in
anode installation, the specific resistivity of the Figure 3 and Figure 4 it is evident that the tank bottom will
electrolyte, the length of the anode, the depth to the be sufficiently protected as the potential distribution is more
centre of the anode measured from the surface of the negative or equal to -850 mV. The potential distribution of
electrolyte, and the diameter of the anode. the aging underground pipeline network does not satisfy the
The calculation of the grounding resistance for a number polarized potential of -850 mV c
of horizontal anodes installed in parallel is based on surface area. The deviations are discussed in Section VI.
calculating the vertical resistance of these anodes for a
specific spacing. The grounding resistance for a single
horizontal anode is calculated and then divided by the
number of anodes installed in parallel. This result is then
multiplied by the result of the vertical resistance for the
same number of vertical anodes in parallel divided by the
resistance of a single vertical anode divided by the number
of anodes in parallel.
6) Total circuit resistance [mV]
The total circuit resistance of the CP system is the sum
of all resistances within the CP circuit namely:
Anode grounding resistance
Grounding resistance of structure
Resistance of interconnecting cables
7) TRU output voltage and power
The calculation of the required TRU output voltage is
simply the product of the total circuit resistance and the
required current calculated. On closer inspection one will see
Figure 3: Simulated potential distribution on tank bottom in small
required output voltage of the TRU. tank farm

V. RESULTS
The results are broken down into two sections and will
be presented in terms of verification and validation of the
proposed design framework.

A. Verification results
The proposed design framework is based on the CP
system designs for the two case studies mentioned before.

CP and Corrosion, utilizing the boundary element method

for polarization calculations. The CP systems were defined
in terms of soil resistivity, structure resistance-to-earth,
anode polarization curves and cathode polarization curves.
The simulated potential distribution on one tank bottom and
the underground pipeline network is presented in Figure 3 [mV]
and Figure 4 respectively.
Figure 4: Simulated potential distribution on underground pipeline
The polarization results obtained from the simulations
network with a service life of 15 years
were evaluated in terms of the level of protection

534
B. Validation results From the graphical comparison, in Figure 5, of the
As mentioned before the actual measured results used simulated polarized potentials and the actual OFF-potentials
for the validation of the proposed framework were obtained measured at the available test points on the underground
from the underground pipeline network that has been in pipeline network, it is evident that a certain difference
service for 15 years. This section addresses the validation between the results are present. This is a very important
results of the proposed framework. observation to be made as this comparison is based on a CP
system in service for close to 15 years. The simulated
Figure 5 displays the comparison between two sets of polarized potentials are based on all the information
results. The blue line represents a set of OFF-potential gathered from the site survey presented in the CP system
measurements taken at available test points installed along design framework and allowing for coating breakdown over
the underground pipeline network which has been in service a service life of 15 years.
for 15 years. The red line represents a set of simulated
results obtained from the simulation software package The first important observation to be made is that the
utilizing the boundary element method in determining the operating temperatures of the pipelines in the underground
potential distribution on the aged underground pipeline pipeline network have not been taken into account in the
network. The instant OFF-potential of the underground simulated results. The operating temperatures of the
pipeline network is used in the comparison of results as this pipelines can have a major impact on the performance of the
potential is also referred to as the polarization potential CP system as it influences the electrical conductivity of the
which can be realistically compared to the simulated pipeline material. This in turn will influence the current
potential distribution. distribution on the surface of the pipeline and directly
influence the potential distribution on the pipeline.
Stray currents are known to influence the potential of
structures under CP. The absence of cross bonds on certain
sections of pipeline will cause these sections to experience
high levels of stray current corrosion due to the sections of
pipeline being disconnected from the CP source. The current
being induced by the anodes of the CP system can cause
stray current corrosion on areas of the underground pipeline
as sections of the pipeline are no longer connected to the
source. As the condition of the cross bonds between the
pipelines is unknown, the probability that stray currents are
responsible for specific outliers is high.

Figure 5: Measured OFF-potentials and simulated polarisation The proposed design framework presented in this article
potentials along aged underground pipeline network can be successfully utilised for designing CP systems for the
petrochemical industry. The design framework was verified
VI. DISCUSSION with the aid of a simulation software package that simulated
the performance of two respective CP systems. The first CP
It has to be noted that the results presented in Figure 5 system was designed to protect five tanks situated in a small
are representative of an aging underground pipeline network tank farm. This CP system was only verified with the use of
and it was established that the level of cathodic protection is
no longer adequate. Possible causes for the deviations in the the CP system design framework contains some
results are provided and discussed in the following shortcomings.
paragraphs.
The shortcomings of the CP system design framework
In order to generate the simulated results of the identified from the simulated results obtained for the tanks
underground pipeline network after a service life of 15 in the small tank farm confirmed that the electrical field
years, it was necessary to take into account the coating strength surrounding structures protected by a CP system is
breakdown factor of the underground pipeline network. The paramount to the efficiency of the system. This conclusion
CP system design framework is based on the fact that the initial depth of the anodes
coating breakdown factor to be included in the calculations installed for the protection of the tanks had to be altered in
of current requirements as it only focused on new order to provide a more uniform current distribution on the
installations. surface of the tanks. The electric field strength surrounding
From the results obtained it became evident that the a given structure cannot be calculated with the use of the
inclusion of the coating breakdown factor in the CP system analytical design approach and can only be determined with
design framework is very important for ensuring that a the aid of the simulation software package hence its
given CP system provides adequate protection through the inclusion in the proposed design framework.
entire expected service life of a structure. Therefore the Validation of the CP system design framework revealed
coating breakdown factor was included in the CP system that a wide array of factors can have an influence on the
design framework for verifying whether a CP system will performance of a CP system. Factors such as stray currents,
protect a given structure for the entire expected service life non-uniform soil resistivity and electrical continuity of the
of the structure.

535
structure, coating holidays, and faulty reference electrodes If the answer to any of these two questions is no, the
can all compromise the integrity of the CP system. flow diagram enters an iterative process, i.e. the analytical
design is altered until the desired criteria are met. Once the
The CP system design framework does not allow for all
relevant CP criteria have been met and it has been
these factors to be taken into account during the initial
established that the CP system will protect the structure for
design of a given CP system. It is almost impossible to
the expected service life, the design of the CP system is
incorporate all of the abovementioned factors into the CP
concluded.
system design framework as it will complicate the
calculations in such a way that it will be impossible to use The proposed design framework for CP systems has been
the CP system design framework in general. This statement verified by designing two different CP systems. CP systems
is supported by the fact that each CP system is dependent on for the protection of five tanks situated in a small tank farm
its surrounding environment and the characteristics of each and an underground pipeline network have been designed
underground structure are unique under operating with the aid of the proposed design framework.
conditions.
The verification process included the use of computer
software that utilises the boundary element method to
calculate the polarisation on the surface of metallic
VII. DESIGN FRAMEWORK structures due to the application of CP. The calculated
The design framework that is suggested for CP system polarisation potential was evaluated in terms of the CP
design for the petrochemical industry is presented in Figure criteria presented in NACE Standard RP-01-69.
6. The design framework is based on procedures found in
international standards as well as in literature. The flow
diagram of the design framework is used for the visual CP system design
representation of the framework that was used to perform
the empirical CP system design for the small tank farm as
well as that of the underground pipeline network. Site survey

Any CP system design starts with a comprehensive site Perform current Use theoretical data
survey. The data to be obtained during the site survey have drain test on in determining
structure and Is the structure current requirement
been discussed in detail in section IV A. This information measure grounding
Y
installed?
N
and grounding
also forms part of the basic flow diagram of the design resistance of resistance of
structure structure
framework included in Figure 6. Depending on whether the
CP system is to be designed for a new or existing structure, Surface area
the required current demand to fully protect the structure is calculations

determined in different ways.

Required current
In the case of an existing structure it is possible to calculations

perform a current drain test in order to determine the

required current for adequate protection of the tank. The Calculate required
number of anodes
same applies for measuring the resistance-to-earth of the
N N
structure and measuring the conductance of the structure. Calculate the
These are very important parameters to be used during the N grounding resistance
of anodes
empirical design of the CP system.
In the case of a new installation the abovementioned Calculate the total
circuit resistance
measurements are not always possible to perform and the
theoretical calculations of required current, structure-to-
TRU Calculate TRU
earth resistance, and coating conductance must be outputs within output voltage and
performed. These steps are also included in the basic flow spec? power

diagram. The analytical CP system design comprises the use

of analytical equations. The analytical calculations and the Y
Simulate the CP Relevant CP
system (BEM) criteria met?
sequence of the calculations are clear from the information
contained in the flow diagram presented in Figure 6. Expected Calculate the
service life expected service life Y
It is very important to note that the flow diagram sufficient? of the CP System
recommends that the analytically designed CP system is
simulated with the aid of a computer software package. The Y
CP system design
results obtained from the simulation of the CP system are to complete

be used to determine whether the system meets the relevant

CP criteria required for the protection of the structure Figure 6: Flow diagram of design framework
throughout its entire service life. Two important questions
are raised after

536
 VIII. CONCLUSIONS that of the authors and the NRF does not accept any liability
Although the CP system design framework can be in this regard.
successfully utilized to design CP systems for various This research was also funded, in part, by Proconics.
underground structures up to the end of its service life, the
monitoring of the system and structure after the installation REFERENCES
of the CP system is of utmost importance.
[1] J. E. Ramirez
The design framework was successfully implemented for Advanced Materials & Processes, vol. 172, no. 8, pp. 15-17,
2014.
the empirical design of CP systems for the protection of [2] L. T. Popoola, A. S. Grema, G. K. Latinwo, B. Gutti and A. S.
tanks situated in a small tank farm as well as an
underground pipeline network. The verification of the CP International Journal of Industrial
system design framework indicated that the design Chemistry, vol. 35, no. 4, 2013.
[3] Materials
framework has certain limitations in terms of determining Performance, vol. 46, no. 12, pp. 26-29, 2007.
the electrical field strength over the entire surface of the [4]
structure to be protected. This limitation was identified Electrical Engineering, vol. 71, no. 4, pp. 367-373,
using the simulation software package which indicated that 1952.
[5] R.A. Adey, S.M. Niku, C.A. Brebbia, J. Finnegan, Computer
the depth at which the anodes were initially installed at for aided design of cathodic protection systems, Applied Ocean
the protection of the tanks in the small tank farm did not Research, Volume 8, Issue 4, 1986.
provide a uniform current distribution on the tank surfaces. [6] M. Safuadi, M. Ridha, S. Huzni, S. Fonna, A. K. Ariffin, A. R.
By adjusting the depth of the anodes, the current distribution Daud, Optimization of cathodic protection system design for
pipe-lines structure with ribbon sacrificial anode using BEM
on the tank surfaces have improved and the tank surfaces and GA, Key Engineering Materials, Vols. 462-463, pp. 1267-
were sufficiently polarised to satisfy the CP criteria. 1272, 2011.
[7] J. R. Davis, Corrosion: Understanding the basics, 1st ed., vol. 1,
It is recommended that future work is performed on ASM International, 2000.
determining the influence that the use of an average soil [8] R. E. Colson
resistivity value during the analytical design of a CP system Engineering, vol. 67, no. 3, pp. 58-59, 1997.
has on the overall performance of the system. This [9]
recommendation is based on the fact that every CP system IEEE Transactions on industry applications, Vols. IA-21, no. 6,
pp. 1533-1537, 1985.
requires that some adjustments are made to the voltage and [10] J. C. Kotz, P. M. Treichel and J. R. Townsend, chemistry and
current outputs of the TRU. Other factors contributing to the chemical reactivity, 7th ed., Thomson Brookes/Cole, 2006.
required adjustments must also be identified and the effects [11] D. A. Jones, Principles and prevention of corrosion, 2nd ed.,
of these factors must be incorporated in the CP system Prentice-Hall, 1996.
design framework presented. [12] W. F. Smith and J. Hashemi, Foundations of materials science
and engineering, 4th ed., McGraw-Hill, 2006.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT [13]
a
This work is based on the research supported, in part, by https://aucsc.com/. [Accessed June 2014].
the National Research Foundation (NRF) of South Africa [14] A. W. Peabody, Peabody's control of pipeline corrosion, 2nd
(grant no. TP13082731113). Any opinion, finding and ed., NACE International, 2001.
conclusion, or recommendation expressed in this material is .

537