WELCOME TO A

PRESENTATION ON

Corrosion Process
&
Cathodic Protection System

Presented By:
Date: 12/30/22 Sri Rajib Kumar Sarmah
Venue: Free Powerpoint Templates
Dy.SEE(Gen)
Overview of Presentation

What is Corrosion?
Harmful effects of corrosion
Components of a corrosion cell
Commonly Affected Structures
Factors Affecting Corrosion Cell Formation
Corrosion Prevention Methods
Coating Types  
Fundamentals of Cathodic Protection
Galvanic CP or Sacrificial Anode CP
Impressed Current CP System
Arrangement of Anodes for Impressed Current CP
Interference on Pipe Lines
Cathodic Protection of Storage Tanks
 What is Corrosion?
Corrosion is the deterioration of materials by chemical
interaction with their environment. The term corrosion is
sometimes also applied to the degradation of plastics,
concrete and wood, but generally refers to metals.

Metallic Corrosion: A process in which a metal is

destroyed by a electrochemical reaction (oxidation)
forming an oxide layer on the metal surface.

This process requires that the metal surface be exposed

to oxygen, and is favoured in the presence of water.

In the case of iron and steel, corrosion is often referred

to as rusting.
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Some of the major harmful effects of corrosion
can be summarised as follows:
 Reduction of metal thickness leading to loss of mechanical strength and
Structural Failure or breakdown. Considerable weakening may result from a small
amount of metal loss.
 Hazards or injuries to people arising from structural failure or breakdown (e.g.
bridges, cars, aircraft, ships etc.)
 Loss of time in availability of costly & dependable industrial equipment.

 Reduced value of goods due to deterioration of appearance.

 Contamination of fluids in vessels and pipes .

 Perforation of vessels and pipes allowing escape of their contents and possible
harm to the surroundings.
 Loss of technically important surface properties of a metallic component.

 Mechanical damage to valves, pumps, etc, or blockage of pipes by solid corrosion

products.
 Cost of equipments increased which needs to be designed to last for prolonged
life.
Transco Pipeline failure 14th Sept, 2008 in Appomattox Virginia, US

Gas cloud ignited producing a large

fireball and resulting in a 11m wide,
4.5m deep crater and a burn zone of
340m in diameter. Failure mainly due
to corrosion.

10m section of pipe was

blown out.
Mexico (Guadalajara) Sewer Explosion due to Corrosion

 killed 215 people in Mexico, in

April 1992. Besides the fatalities, the
series of blasts damaged 1,600
buildings and injured 1,500 people

 The first cause of the disaster was a

galvanized steel pipeline that was
close up in a humid environment with
a steel gasoline pipeline. Both of
them corroded, and gasoline leaked
through the holes and got
contaminated into the main sewer.
Bhopal Gas Tragedy
Bhopal is probably the site of the greatest industrial disaster in history.

Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL in Bhopal, was licensed to manufacture

phosgene, mono-methylamine , methyl-isocyanate and the pesticide carbaryl.

On the night of the 2-3 December 1984 water inadvertently entered the
methyl-isocyanate storage tank, where over 40 metric tons of MIC were being
stored.

The addition of water to the tank caused a runaway chemical reaction,

resulting in a rapid rise in pressure & temperature and the tank exploded.

It is been estimated that at least 3000 people died as a result of this accident,
while figures for the number of people injured currently range from 200,000
to 600,000.
Components of a corrosion cell
Anode
–At anode metal goes into solution as metal ions (oxidation reaction) and Metal loss or corrosion occurs .

Cathode
– At cathode metal deposition or reduction of gases occur s(reduction reaction)
- Little or no corrosion occurs at the cathode

Return Circuit/Metallic Path

– Provides a path for electrons to flow, between the anode and cathode

Electrolyte
– Ionized solution capable of conducting electricity
 Components of a corrosion cell
• Anodic sites have a more negative potential than cathodic sites in the
same electrolyte.

• Current flow through the electrolyte is due to ion movement & current
flow through the metal is due to movement of electron.

• Thus any corrosion phenomenon is associated with passage of D.C. Current

from anode to electrolyte.
CORROSION REACTIONS
 
AT ANODE (-ve terminal) M  M +z + Ze ( z– valency of metals)
For Iron
Fe  Fe++ +2e
Fe ++ + 2 0H-Fe (OH)2
4Fe (OH)2 + O2 + 2H2 O  4Fe (OH)3 (in presence of excess oxygen)
 
Fe(OH)3  FeOOH+H2O (Hydrated Ferric oxide, Red Rust)
Or Fe(OH) 2 + CO2  Fe(OH)(HCO3) (Ferrous Hydroxyl Carbonate)
 
AT CATHODE (+ve terminal)
  (Acid) 2 H + +2e  H2
(Aerated wet acidic soil) O2+ 4H+ + 4e  2 H2O
(Neutral sea water or Basic solutions) O 2+ 2H2O+ 4e  4OH -
 Galvanic Series
Example: Connecting magnesium to copper will produce a corrosion cell with a
potential of about 1.5 volts.

METAL VOLTS (CSE)

 Commercially Pure Magnesium -1.75
 Magnesium Alloy -1.60
 Zinc -1.10
 Aluminum Alloy -1.05
 Commercially Pure Aluminum -0.80
 Mild Steel (clean & shiny) -0.50 to -0.80
 Mild Steel (rusted) -0.20 to -0.50
 Cast Iron (not graphitized) -0.50
 Lead -0.50
 Mild Steel in Concrete -0.20
 Copper, Brass, Bronze -0.20
 High Silicon Cast Iron -0.20
 Carbon, Graphite, Coke +0.30
 Commonly Affected Structures
 Buried Piping
 Storage Tanks - Above Ground / Underground
 Reinforcing Steel in Concrete
 Steel Piles
 Ships/Boats
 Structural Steel Towers

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 Corrosion Type
 Uniform or near uniform - Corrosion attacks all areas of the metal at
the same or similar rate.

 Localized - Some areas of the metal corrode at different rates due to

heterogeneities in the metal or environment. This type of attack can
approach pitting.

 Pitting - Very highly localized attack resulting in small pits that may
penetrate to perforation.

 Erosion: Removal of surface material by the action of numerous

individual impacts of solid or liquid particles

 Stress cracking: Service failures in materials that occur by slow

environmentally induced crack propagation
 Factors Affecting Corrosion Cell Formation:

Cell Caused by Different Soil Resistivity Cell Caused by Different Concentrations of

Oxygen

Cell Caused by Different Concentrations Cell Caused by Non-Homogeneous Soil

of soil water
 Factors Affecting Corrosion Cell Formation:

Cell Caused by Concrete and Soil

Electrolytes Galvanic Corrosion Cell Caused by Different
Metals

Corrosion Cell Caused by Old and New Steel Corrosion Cell Caused by Stressed and
Scratched Surfaces
Methods to Control Corrosion
 Use of Corrosion resistant materials (plastic, stainless alloys, fiberglass).

 Use of the same or similar metals per the galvanic series.

 Altering the environment (utilizing homogeneous high resistivity

backfill or inhibitors).

 Utilize coatings and linings that electrically insulate the structure from
the electrolyte (paints, plastic films, etc).

 Use of Cathodic Protection.

Corrosion Prevention Methods for Metal against Electrolyte
Corrosion

Coating
• Painting of surface by Anti-corrosive primers. Primers may be lead-
based or lead-free zinc rich primer types.

• Finishing with paints/enamels.

• Coating by Coal Tar Enamel, Fusion Bonded Epoxy (FBE), Polyethylene

or Polyurethane are primary methods of external corrosion protection.

Cathodic protection
• Protection by coating alone is not recommended due to rapid attack of
metal at coating holidays (areas of coating defects).

• Application of coating drastically reduces cathodic protection current

requirement, since C.P. Current is required at defect areas of coating as
well as preventing degradation in healthy areas.
 Coating Types  
2. Fusion Bonded Epoxy (FBE)
1. Internal Lining Powder Coating

Internal coating using a two component

liquid epoxy based paint.

3. Dual Fusion Bonded Epoxy (D-FBE ) coating 4. Bitumen / Asphalt Enamel

(AE) Coating

FBE primer (first layer), FBE topcoat (top layer

 Coating Types  
5. Three Layer Polypropylene (3LPP) 6. Three Layer Polyethylene
Coating (3LPE) Coating

7. Concrete Weight Coating (CWC) 8. Polyurethane Insulation Coating

1824: Earliest practical use of cathodic protection
 Sir Humphrey Davy’s work on protecting the copper
sheathing on wooden hulls in the British Navy by
sacrificial zinc or iron anodes is generally considered to
be the earliest example of practical cathodic protection.
 Fundamentals of Cathodic Protection
 Cathodic Protection (CP): Minimize corrosion by utilizing an external source
of electrical current (DC).

 The method consists of supplying electrons from external source to the corroding metal
so as to convert all anodic sites of the corroding metal to cathode where by only
reduction reaction occurs by consuming the supplied electrons.
 Cathodic protection being electro-chemical technique, arrests all forms of corrosion
(Uniform Attack, Galvanic, Pitting, Stress Corrosion Cracking etc excepting H2
damage.

 The magnitude of external current is such as to depress the metal potential to

negative side to prevent dissolution of metal and current direction being
opposite to corrosion current.
 Galvanic CP or Sacrificial Anode CP
 When metals, which are more electronegative than protected metal (such as
magnesium or zinc) are placed in the same environment and kept in contact
with the protected metal (such as steel,) a current flows from the more active
anode (zinc) to the noble cathode (steel), protecting the cathode.

Anodes Materials Used for Sacrificial Anode CP

 Sacrificial anodes have fixed driving voltage to protected metal which is in range of
0.6-0.25 volts.
 Magnesium – It is often used in soil to protect small electrically isolated
structures, such as underground storage tanks, and well coated pipelines.
 Zinc – It is often used in marine environments. They are commonly found on
boats.
 Aluminum – It can be used for a variety of marine applications.

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Galvanic Sacrificial Anode-Installation
Keys to obtaining enough cathodic protection

Determination of amount of current required


Theoretical calculations based on coating quality and environment.


Perform physical testing of current requirement.


Calculation of expected from of anode and determination of number of anodes
required.

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 Sacrificial Anode CP
Advantages :
 Inexpensive
 Little Maintenance cost
 No external Power source
 Robust system, reduced maintenance
 Typically work best with electrically isolated structures.

Dis-advantages :
 Limited driving voltage of 0.25 V to 1.25 V (driving potential based on the galvanic
series)
 Limited output makes it ineffective when trying to protect large uncoated surfaces.
 Require a low resistivity electrolyte (e.g sea water) to function well. Not suited for
media with high resistive soil.
 Require more no of anodes for protection
 Require more quantity of anode material for securing long operating time.

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Impressed Current CP System Components

1. Power Supplies
2. Control Amplifier
3. Anodes
4. Metal surface of protected material (Cathode)
5. Reference Electrode

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 Impressed Current CP System
Advantages:
High driving voltage (30 V to 75 V)
Capable of protecting large steel structures, when designed properly.
Requires less anodes then a galvanic system.
Output can be controlled using a permanent reference electrode, desirable when the
electrolyte resistivity is known to change due to seasonal changes.

Disadvantages:
Initial costs can be more expensive
Vulnerable components, such as Anode wires can be susceptible to damage
Requires an external DC power source along with an AC supply.
Need for regulation/control system
Risk of overprotection of highly charged materials
Risk of Coating damages – cathodic disboardment due to O2 release.
Need for/recommended protection shield around the anodes
System requires routine maintenance and monitoring.
 Impressed Current CP Rectifier
A rectifier converts available AC power to low voltage DC power. Most
cathodic protection rectifiers are provided with a means to vary the
DC output voltage in small increments, or in some cases offer
complete control from zero to 100% of rated DC output.

Controller consist of
 D.C. Power source:
-Automatic potential controlled transformer-rectifier of rating
25A/ 25V, 50A/ 50V, 75A/75V, 50A/75V, 100A/ 12V etc.

-Battery bank with potential controller for uninterrupted cathodic

protection.

-It Amplifies the difference between level of cathodic protection

of the metal as determined from the reference electrode with the
desired level of protection, as set by the operator; which in turn
controls the amount of current delivered to the anodes.

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Reference electrode – mounted next to the or through
the metal surface to be protected.

Anodes for Impressed Current CP –

 Anodes generally used are Platinised Titanium , Platinised Niobium or
Platinised Tantalum etc.
 Anodes are immersed in the corrosion medium, mounted through
walls of tank or suspended from pier.
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PSP Measurement taken by placing the electrode in the electrolyte and
measuring the potential between structure and electrode with a high
resistance voltmeter .
Requirement of Cathodic Voltage for Protection:

Steel structures exposed to soil, fresh water and sea water are fully cathodically
protected when their interface potential to electrolyte is

• Minimum -0.850 volts (-850 mV) w.r.t. Cu/ CuSO4 for soil / fresh water and

• Minimum -0.800 volts (-800 mV) w.r.t. Ag/AgCl in sea water.

• For large bare structure drawing high current, -0.850 V criteria may not be
achieved, for such cases minimum 100 mv potential shift is recommended as
protection criteria

Potential Shift = Instant ‘Off’ Potential - Natural Pot

(w.r.t Cu/CuSO4) (w.r.t Cu/CuSO4)

• This is done by temporarily switching ‘OFF’ the C.P. Current and measure potential
within 1 sec from switching off. Potential so measured is termed as instant ‘OFF’
potential (see figure). Typical switching cycle is 12 sec ‘ON’, 3 sec ‘OFF’.
Typical Current Requirements for Cathodic Protection of Steel (Bare Surface)
Arrangement of Anodes for Impressed Current CP
Measurement of Pipe to Soil Potential (PSP)
By Structure to Electrolyte Potential or
By Line Current Measurement
Pipe line Casing & Casing Insulation Testing

•If the two potential measurements are significantly

different (over 10 mV), the casing is not shorted to
the pipeline.

•Under normal conditions, the carrier pipeline

should be at a potential more negative than -0.85
volts DC, and the casing should be
between approximately -0.35 and -0.65 volts DC (a
difference of between 200 to 500 mV).
 Interference On Pipe Lines (Stray Current)

Stray current or interference current can be classified

as being static or dynamic.

Stray current can be either AC Current or DC Current

 Dynamic Interference
Dynamic stray current:
- Vary with amplitude or change with direction in the direction of
current flow
-can be man made or natural origin

 SOURCES OF DYNAMIC STRAY CURRENT:

 Transit systems (AC or DC Traction System)
 Mining
 DC welding machines
 Electric power transmission
 Industrial plants with arc furnaces
 Telluric Current (due to Earth Magnetism)
DC Interference (Dynamic)
DC Interference (Static)
DC Interference (Static)
 AC INTERFERENCE

Pipelines may share a common right-of-way with

parallel high voltage AC power lines resulting in
mutual interference effects.
 AC INTERFERENCE

There are three basic method by which ac voltage and current appear in
metallic structure near ac power line :

 Electrostatic or Capacitive Coupling: Structure acts as one side of

capacitor with respect to ground. This is only of concern when the structure is
above ground.(i.e pipeline supported on skids , during construction or
maintenance of pipeline care to be taken).

 Resistive Coupling :
 During power line faults to ground, a large AC current can be transmitted to the
earth through resistance coupling and then flows on and off the underground
structure.

 These current which can be several thousand amperes, can cause substantial
physical damage to structure coatings, in extreme case where ac density is high,
steel piping has been known to melt. Normally these fault occur infrequently
and are of short duration
Interference due to Electromagnetic Induction:

 Structure acts as the single turn secondary of an air core transformer in which over
head power line is primary. This type of induction may occur when the structure is
either above ground or below ground .

 The induced voltage does not directly proportional to power line voltage. Hence,
relatively low voltage ac power line can produce electromagnetically induced
current.

 When a pipeline closely runs parallel to power line for some distance , induced
voltage peak would be expected where the pipeline and power line separates.
 Problems of AC Interference

 The Capacitive, Ohmic or Inductive AC Coupling between power

lines and pipelines may result in:

1. Danger to the safety of personnel under normal operation (15 volt limit)

2. Danger to the safety of personnel under fault conditions

3. Danger to the pipeline integrity under fault conditions.

4. Risk of ac-enhanced corrosion under normal operation.

5. Risk of damage to the coating from electrical stress under fault conditions
AC Interference mitigation methods include:

 Significant separation between pipe and HVAC system.

 Ground pipe with using distributed galvanic anodes.
 Ground pipe with using a metal such as Zn, Mg, Steel and
Cu with DC De-coupler Device (e.g Capacitor, Polarisation
cell). A De-coupler allow to pass ac current and block dc
current.
 Protecting devices for electrical isolation such as flanges
insulation kits or joints.
 Step and touch protection systems (gradient mats or grid).
 INTERFERENCE MITIGATION

Pipeline modification involve:

a) Installation of insulating joint
b) Installation of Magnesium anode on the pipeline at the location where
pipeline is going into stray current discharge.
c) If magnesium anode is installed where the pipeline both pick up and
discharge stray current, installation of diode with magnesium anode is
necessary to assure that anode discharge stray current but do not
collect stray current.
d) Installation of potentially control rectifier and impressed current
gound bed where pipeline is going into stray current discharge.
DC INTERFERENCE MITIGATION
DC INTERFERENCE MITIGATION
Cathodic Protection of Over ground Storage Tanks
Cathodic System for Existing Tanks
-  Shallow vertical distributed close anodes (local protection).-
- Distributed anodes are arranged around tank periphery at 5-10 m separation
from tank periphery (see Figure) 
-  Each bed having 1-2 anodes. 
Cathodic System for Existing Tanks
Cathodic Protection System for New Tanks
-For new tanks under construction best configuration is distributed anode
under the tank bottom plate  
-    Anode to plate separation = 900 mm. 
-     Most uniform current/potential distribution & Minimum current
requirement is achieved
-     Minimum voltage gradient across the tank diameter as in case of close
distributed anodes around periphery. 
-    Anodes are metal oxide coated titanium mesh/ ribbon or wire anodes in
coke backfill laid on sand pad before tank bottom plate is placed in position. 
-  A Dielectric liner is placed below anode to minimize current draw by tank
foundation reinforcement steel.
- Current rating of the wire anode is 40mA/ M2
Anode Loop
Cathodic Protection System for Underground Tanks
Impressed Current - Design
Calculate total area to be protected (Ap)

Determine current density (ρ)

Calculate total protection current (Ip)

Calculate total anode needed (N)

 Initial
 Lifetime

Calculate total anode resistance

(Rtotal = f(N, ρ, d, L, spacing))

Calculate rectifier specification (Vdc, Idc, Pdc = f(Rtot,Ip)

Corrosion Rate for Uniform Attack :

Corrosion rate expressed as mm /yr or mils/year (MPY) or mg/dm 2/day (MDD). The
above units represent average rate of metal penetration or weight loss of metal
excluding any adherent or non adherent corrosion products.

For Mild Steel in soil rate is = 0.021 mm/ yr.

For Mild Steel in sea water rate is = 0.13 mm/ yr.

CLASSIFICATION ON BASIS OF CORROSION RATE:

a)   0.15 mm/yr – EXCELLENT CORROSION RESISTANCE.
b)   0.15-0.5 mm/yr – GOOD
c)    0.5 – 1.0 mm/yr – FAIR
d)    1.0 mm/yr – UNACCEPTABLE.
 Resistance of Common
Electrolytes
 Soils – High resistivity soil reduces the corrosion rate, while
low resistivity soil increases the corrosion rate.

ELECTROLYTE ANTICIPATED
RESISTIVITY CORROSIVITY
CLASSIFICATION (ohm-cm)

Low Resistance 0 to 2,000 Severe

Medium 2,000 to 10,000 Moderate

High 10,000 to 30,000 Mild

Very High Above 30,000 Increasingly Less

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Resistance of Common Electrolytes
 Water – Approximate resistivity values

Water Resistivity Ohms-cm

Open sea 20-25
Tea water (coastal) 30-40
River water 500-10,000
Tap water 1,000-10,000
Rain water 20,000
Distilled water 500,000
Pure water 20,000,000

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