Underground Corrosion Control
3:25
CP 1 – Cathodic Protection Tester Course Manual
©
NACE International, 2000
02/01/05
Dielectric
If a sheet of plastic or other insulator is placed close to the surface of a
cathodically protected structure, it may prevent adequate current from
reaching a corroding surface. Disbonded coatings may have the same result.
Criteria for Cathodic Protection
Cathodic protection is a polarization phenomenon. As explained earlier in
this chapter, cathodic protection involves reducing the potential difference
between local anodic and cathodic sites on a metal surface to zero. This is
accomplished by polarizing local cathode potentials to those of the local
anodes.
Polarization of the cathodic sites to the open circuit potential of the anodic
sites is the true criterion for eliminating corrosion. It is essentially
impossible, however, to determine the open circuit potential of the most
active anodic site. Because corrosion cells are usually microscopic and the
measured potentials are mixed corrosion potentials, the initial
measurements are most likely to be an average of corrosion potentials for
several corrosion cells. Therefore, several surrogate criteria have been
developed to assist meeting the true criterion. Various criteria are
recommended by NACE International and other international standards
organizations.
NACE International Recommended Criteria
General
There are several criteria recommended by NACE. These will be found in
various recommended practices (RP). The following discussion covers
various metals in different environments. Pertinent recommended practices
are also cited. When referring to these recommended practices, be certain to
obtain the latest revision (the year of revision follows the RP number).
You will note that in many cases, the statement is made that voltage drops
(IR drops) other than those across the structure-to-electrolyte boundary,
must be considered for valid interpretation of the data. It is very important
that you have a thorough understanding of this, since if IR drop is not
considered, your data may indicate that the structure is protected when
indeed it is not. This matter is discussed in the following section. After that,
we will discuss criteria for various situations.
Summary of Contents for CP 1
Page 1: ...CP 1 Cathodic Protection Tester Course Manual February 2005 NACE International 2000 ...
Page 265: ......
Page 266: ......
Page 267: ......
Page 268: ......
Page 301: ...RP0169 2002 32 NACE International ISBN 1 57590 035 1 ...
Page 535: ...TM0101 2001 24 NACE International ISBN 1 57590 137 4 ...