Materials Performance

DEC 2016

Materials Performance is the world's most widely circulated magazine dedicated to corrosion prevention and control. MP provides information about the latest corrosion control technologies and practical applications for every industry and environment.

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32 DECEMBER 2016 MATERIALS PERFORMANCE NACE INTERNATIONAL: VOL. 55, NO. 12 once the bare surface area is calculated/ approximated. Anodic and cathodic Tafel equations were used to model electrochemical pro- cesses at the surfaces of sacrificial anodes a n d st e el str u c tu re s (c ath o d e s) . Thi s required laboratory voltammetry tests to evaluate the relevant kinetic parameters (i .e., exchange CD and Tafel slopes for anode and cathode materials at a sample soil collected at the tower footing ). 8 The kinetic parameters can vary with factors such as soil resistivity, pH level, oxygen concentration, metal ion concentration, surface area of electrodes, temperature, chloride contamination, and organic mat- ter content. Examples of values for kinetic parame- ters are listed in Table 3. The listed coeffi- cients are provided for demonstration pur- poses—considerably different values may be obtained in different soil environments. System Selection and Primary Calculations In contrast to pipelines, which are con- ti nu o u s str u c tu re s w ith l a rge su r fa c e areas, foundations of T&D; towers are sep- arate structures with relatively small sur- face areas. Accordingly, it is preferred to install individual galvanic CP systems for each tower and implement the same for each tower within a group that share com- mon characteristics. Magnesium and zinc anodes are gener- ally recommended for soil application ; nonetheless, use of zinc anodes is suggested only for low soil resistivity conditions. H i g h - p o t e n t i a l m a g n e s i u m a l l o y anodes (Type M1, per ASTM B843 9 ) were selected for the example (Table 4 7 ). The required capacity of the CP system (Q CP ) can be calculated from Equation (1): Q CP = I CP × Life (1) where I CP (A) is the required protection cur- rent obt ain ed from on-sit e t e stin g or approximated from Table 2. A minimum life of 20 years is considered for the CP system. Once the capacity of the CP system is deter- mined, the minimum mass of the anode (m Mag ) for the system can be calculated from Equation (2): TABLE 2. TYPICAL CURRENT REQUIREMENTS FOR CP OF BARE STEEL Environment Current Density mA/m 2 mA/ft 2 Neutral soil 4.3 to 16.1 0.4 to 1.5 Highly acidic soil 32.3 to 161.4 3 to 15 Heated soil 32.3 to 269 3 to 25 Wet concrete 32.3 to 161.4 3 to 15 TABLE 3. SAMPLE KINETIC PARAMETER VALUES USED IN ELECTROCHEMICAL SIMULATION Anodic Tafel slope +50 mV vs. CSE Cathodic Tafel slope –160 mV vs. CSE Anodic exchange CD 100 mA/m 2 Cathodic exchange CD 1 mA/m 2 Anodic equilibrium potential –1,750 mV vs. CSE (Table 4) Cathodic equilibrium potential –600 mV vs. CSE (Table 1) TABLE 4. SPECIFICATION OF HIGH-POTENTIAL MAGNESIUM ANODES (M1 TYPE) Nominal potential –1,750 mV vs. CSE (in packaged backfill) Current efficiency (E) 50% Utilization factor (U) 85% Theoretical capacity (Q Mag ) 0.251 (A-y/kg) or 0.114 (A-y/lb) Theoretical consumption rate 3.98 (kg/A-y) or 8.76 (lb/A-y) • Soil resistivity test • S oi l-to-str ucture electro ch emical potential test • CP current requirement test • Voltammetry tests While the first three tests must be per- formed on-site, voltammetry tests require laboratory facilities. Soil resistivity measurements can be performed either on-site or in a laboratory per ASTM G187 4 and AASHTO T288 5 stan- dards. It is recommended, however, to use the Wenner four-pin method, ASTM G57, 6 to perform in situ soil resistivity tests, which allows identification of soil layers, if any. Since distribution of protection cur- rent in soil environments strongly depends on the soil resistivity, the presence of soil horizons with different resistivity values can make a considerable difference in the performance of a CP system. Based on field experience, the electro- chemical potential of a directly buried structure, measured with respect to a refer- ence electrode (e.g., copper/copper sulfate [Cu/CuSO 4 ] electrode [CSE]), indicates the corrosion condition, as listed in Table 1. 7 Note that this potential and the corrosion rate will change during different seasons mainly due to variations of soil tempera- ture and moisture content. The required current to cathodically protect a grillage foundation can be mea- sured on-site by the current interruption technique, which uses temporary anodes and a portable direct current power sup- ply. Based on soil resistivity and bare sur- face area at the foundation, the required current may vary from a few mA to a few hundred mA. Where CP current require- ment tests are not possible, the required current can be estimated from Table 2 7 CATHODIC PROTECTION

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