Cathodic Protection Module 1-00

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Cathodic Protection Training Course
Introduction to this course

This course is for everyone involved with the application of cathodic protection.
Cathodic Protection has always been divided between the science of electrochemistry and the application of cathodic protection technology in the field.
Since the 1980's cathodic protection data has been stored on computers but the
gap between the electro-chemists and the most basic field practices has made it
difficult to achieve computer analysis.
This course includes practical work that is

designed to enable the student to understand
applied cathodic protection from the very basic
principles.
It is important that each student understands each module as a basis on which
they can move forward to the next.
At the end of the course each student will be required to present a paper for
publication on the CPN website. The merits of each paper will be assessed by the
membership of the CPN.
Experienced corrosion engineers and scientists will be able to check the validity
of each step and are encouraged to express their opinions.
Module 1
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An introduction to cathodic
protection
What is cathodic protection?
Cathodic protection is an electrical way of stopping

corrosion.
In order to understand cathodic protection it is
crucial that an engineer can visualise 'electrical
pressures'.
This is a typical illustration of a corrosion cell with the

arrows showing the direction of the current.
This current is driven by the 'pressure' (Electro-Motive
Force) of the corrosion reaction that is taking place on
the surface of the metal.
This pressure drives electrical current through the
electrolyte to any location with a lower electrical
pressure.
We should imagine the 'electrical pressures' as we use
the instruments to measure electrical values.
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This meter is showing that there is a voltage of 0.530

between it's negative and positive poles.
An electrical pressure is known as a 'potential' - not be
confused with a voltage. A voltage is the difference in
potential between two points, measured in volts.
The relationship between voltage, current (measured by
ammeters) and resistance (measured in ohms) is defined
by Ohm's Law.
When measuring voltages any potential can be regarded
as zero for the purpose of graphic display and
calculations.
This potential can then be compared to another potential

using a voltmeter so that the potential difference can be
expressed in volts. The graph above only shows the
difference between the two potentials at each point of
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measurement. There is no reason to suppose that any

two voltages are related. This graph is simply a number
of voltages joined together by a line joining the dots.
This fact is dealt with in depth during this course,
including practical experiments. The voltmeter sets the
zero for each measurment.
The above experiment will confirm that the graph base

line is a 'floating zero'.
Corrosion produces 'electro-motive-force', which drives

current into the electrolyte, causing the potential of the
electrolyte to increase and the corrosion current to
radiate out into the surrounding electrolyte.
Corrosion is a chemical reaction that discharges
electricity from an anode to a cathode through the
electrolyte. Metal is changed into rust at the anode and
the metal at the cathode remains undamaged.
The current generated at a coating defect takes the least
line of resistance to return to the pipeline metal
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The point where current enters the metal is known as

the cathode. No corrosion reaction is possible at this site
as the potential of the electrolyte is greater than that of
the metal at this immediate interface.
The reaction can continue until equilibrium is reached
between the chemicals and the electrical energy. The
chemicals have 'eaten away' all the metal and have run
out of 'food'. No current is produced and so the whole
coating fault is 'at rest'. Corrosion product builds up on
the metal blocking the path of the current.
Batteries work on this principle. When batteries reach

equilibrium we have to re- charge or discard them.
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The public are not generally aware that our gas and oil
comes to us through pipes that are inclined to rust but
are protected by 'Cathodic Protection'. As corrosion
control engineers we must constantly be aware of the
electrical energy around us all the time as that drives the
corrosion process and affects everything we do in our
everyday lives.
Pipelines are 'out of sight and out of mind' so little

attention is given to the fact that metal dissolves in
some solutions and gives off electricity.
It is left to the corrosion engineers to worry about such
things until a pipeline fails, causing loss of life,
environmental damage and massive financial
consequences.
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Consultants are then asked why the pipeline failed and

the debate about the criterion for cathodic protection
receives attention for a little while.
Ship and boat owners are constantly aware of the

damage caused by corrosion and consequently metal
boats are protected by cathodic protection. They have
lumps of metal attached to hulls for this purpose. These
lumps of metal disolve in the water and give off
electricity which prevents the hull from corroding.
Sir Humphrey Davy first introduced this system by
attaching 'pig iron' to the copper clad hulls of ships.
There is a considerable amount of information and
computer modelling advertised on the internet in this
respect. A search will reveal a number of specialised
companies offering services and the CPN is not
competing in this market.
We are concerned with the analysis of data gathered

relating to the cathodic protection of buried and
submerged, coated, steel pipelines that carry most of the
worlds energy supplies from source to the consumer.
This is a very specialised study that must begin with at
the interface between the pipeline metal and the
electrolyte in which it is submerged or buried.
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This old photograph was taken during the construction

of the network of gas pipelines that have been buried in
the UK for over 30 years. This particular stretch was
coated with coal tar enamel and was handled by heavy
construction machines. The coating was often damaged
and repaired before back-fill.
It is clear that coating faults were sometimes missed.
The pipe metal at these coating faults is in contact with
the ground (the 'electrolyte') , which gets 'charged up'
with electricity. The electrical potential' of this bit of
ground is increased to a higher electrical 'pressure' than
the metal surrounding ground and so the electricity
'radiates' into the earth.
The metal that is disolving is the 'anode' from which the
electrical current passes into the electrolyte.
The other metal is the 'cathode' into which the current

passes from the 'charged up' eletrolyte, because the
electrical pressure must be balanced out. (everything
tries to equalise it's electrical potential with everything
around it).
The disolving metal is sacrificed to prevent the subject
metal from corrosion, and this fact is harnessed by
providing a less noble metal in the corrosion circuit... a
system known as 'sacrificial cathodic protection'.
There are limits to which sacifical cathodic protection
can be used but the same principle can be used by
causing a manufactured electrical pressure which is
'impressed' into the electrolyte. The electricity is then
'drained' out of the subject metal....... boat hull or
pipeline.... and this interfers with the natural tendency
of the metal to disolve....or rust!
Students should try to form a mental image of electrical
potential (pressure) and the resulting flow of 'charges'.
Do not get confused by the flow of electrons as we
cannot see this on our meters. It might be important to
the academics but it is irrelevant to field engineers
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Impressed current cathodic protection
Alternating Current Electricity is generated by a sort of

pumping action which causes it to flow backwards and
forwards in 'waves', but this is no use for our purposes
so we have to get it going in one direction through a
circuit known as a 'rectifier'. At the same time we can
control the amount of current by transforming it, so the
apparatus is know as a transformer-rectifier.
A transformer-rectifier can be regarded as an electrical

pump which is sucking the electricity out of the pipeline
(etc) and pumping it into the ground (or sea ... or
swamp... or wherever else you want to pump it).
The effect of this is amazing. It stops rust! And it's
cheap!
But there are some snags.
Because it's so good, it gets installed .... then
ignored...... well most people don't even know it exists...
and because it's cheap some people don't think it's
important. BR>
THE BASIC CONCEPT OF

PIPELINE CATHODIC
PROTECTION
As stated before, everything has a 'potential', which has

an effect on it's relationship with it's environment.
Corrosion is effected by this relationship, as it is an
electro-chemical reaction.
The basic concept of cathodic protection is that the
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electrical potential of the subject metal is reduced below

its corrosion potential, and that it will then be incapable
of going into solution, or corroding. The reasons for this
are given in thermo-dynamic theory but these will not
be discussed at this stage.
The corrosion reaction and cathodic protection

mechanism has been defined by many scientists and has
become established beyond dispute. Many books and
papers have been published, giving details of the
scientific background of corrosion and corrosion
control, as a result of many years of research by
respected and sincere specialists. It is not intended to
dispute any of this work or the conclusions drawn.
Battery technology can be

compared to corrosion control
Technology
The principles of corrosion reactions are used in the
design and construction of expendable and
re-chargeable batteries and accumulators, which play
such a major part in modern life. A battery is designed
to allow a chemical reaction to cause an electrical
current to pass through a desired path, giving energy to
the appliance. The battery has a very carefully
composed electrolyte which has qualities to ensure a
predictable reaction with the other components of the
battery.
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Corrosion within a battery can be controlled by external

electrical techniques which are in common use. Some
batteries have a reversible reaction which enables them
to be recharged by adjusting the electrical 'pressure' at
the terminals. Many appliances are nowadays controlled
by computers to balance the reaction equilibrium to suit
their own power demands.
All this is possible because the battery is a

manufactured unit, designed for the purpose of
receiving and supplying electrical current.
CATHODIC PROTECTION IS DIFFERENT

Unfortunately, cathodic protection is not a unit
composed of simple elements in the way that batteries
are, because the electrolyte is the ground itself. This is
an uncontrollable feature with an almost infinite variety
of qualities.
The picture above is an equivalent circuit diagram of

the cathodic protection systems that were preventing
corrosion over an area of tens of thousands of square
miles of pipelines serving a major oil and gas
production company.
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The chemical composition and electrical conductivity of

the ground can span a vast range and can include
environments such as sea water, deserts, freshwater
swamps, arable (fertilised) land, etc. etc. Climatic
effects cause variations in the temperature, and depth of
cover causes pressure variations which effect the
reaction, adding yet more indeterminable factors in the
reaction.
Cathodic protection of such subjects as gathering

stations (shown above) and storage tank bases is
relatively simple but as the size of the structure
increases, it extends through electrolytes of different
nature and the reaction at each interface varies.
Offshore oil rigs, for example have different
temperatures and pressures at the sea bed to those at the
surface, and studies of these conditions have shown that
they have substantial influences on corrosion.
UNDEFINABLE ELEMENTS
Pipelines are more complex, and can be regarded as
many interface reactions connected together, in parallel.
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The metal element, of the reaction, can be well defined,

as this is specified to a high degree by the designers.
The coating material is carefully designed but it is
generally accepted that no coating can be perfect, and
the faults (or 'Holidays') introduce the first indefinable
element to the system.
During the construction of a pipeline, all possible
measures are taken to detect and repair coating faults, so
it follows that the location and size of those remaining
are unknown and not definable. It is possible to
calculate the theoretical resistance of a perfectly coated
pipeline, given the specification of the coating and
dimensions of the pipeline, but it is not possible to
calculate the resistance of the coating of an actual
pipeline.
The electrical current measurements, taken during
routine cathodic protection monitoring, show that there
is little resistance in the total coating of a pipeline and
this can be explained by the difficulty in quality control
during coating operations and preventing damage
during the construction period.
Perfect coating would prevent any output from the CP
system but undetected coating faults provide paths for
cathodic protection current. We, therefore, know that
there are many unspecified metal-to-electrolyte
interfaces present on an average pipeline.
The electrical resistance of the pipeline metal itself can
be calculated, and is found to be very low. The effect
that the pipeline resistance has on the complex current
paths and variation in potentials, is found to be so small
that it can almost be ignored.
FURTHER COMPLEXITY
Each coating fault is a metal-to-electrolyte interface
which is capable of a different reaction, electromotive-force (EMF) which cannot be measured as it is
in parallel with all other EMFs on the same section of
pipeline.
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The magnitude of the current from each of these is

dependent on the earth resistance immediately adjacent
to the interface, and the current direction is the result of
the combined effects of all the resistances and electrical
pressures caused by all the other EMF's.
Although it is simple to understand each corrosion cell
and the mechanism of corrosion itself, the reality of
applying the science, to the field, becomes immensely
complex.
This becomes more obvious when the circuit has been
subject to computer modeling as discussed later.
To be effective, cathodic protection must reduce the
metal at each single interface, to below it's corrosion
potential. This is not too difficult to achieve, as each
interface is part of the same structure, which has a very
low electrical resistance. The difficulty is knowing
when all the interfaces have been reduced to below their
corrosion potential in relation to the electrolyte in their
reaction vicinity.
OVER PROTECTION
There are several other problems, however, as too much
current passing onto a steel surface can cause
embrittlement, which under certain circumstances can
be as detrimental as corrosion itself. This is manifest in
such applications as the protection of the external
surfaces of drill pipe casings, where a considerable
amount of cathodic protection current is used.
Another fear of 'over-protection' is that of cathodic
disbondment of the coating. This happens when the
coating manufacturers specifications are exceeded.
Cathodic protection current passing onto the metal
causes the release of hydrogen which disbonds the
coating. In reality this is rarely a problem.
The current will only pass onto the metal at a coating
fault, and the density of the current will depend on the
size of the coating fault and the current locally
available. As the current blows the coating from the
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metal, the volts drop at the interface will decrease, and

equilibrium will be reached with a very small increase
in additional disbondment.
If there is no coating fault, then no cathodic
disbondment will occur, as recognised in the British
Standard Code of Practice for testing the coating
manufacturers specification. This requires a specific
size of coating fault on a steel coupon, to be subjected
to an increasing voltage over a specified period. The test
cannot be carried out on a coupon with perfect coating
as the disbondment is observed under the coating at the
edge of the fault.
These matters will be covered in detail later in the
course
THEORY V PRACTICE
We simply want to stop corrosion but we need to know
when we have succeeded. Cathodic protection is
immensely successful, and cost effective, but every leak
is a demonstration that we have not applied it correctly.
Link to page on Cathodic Protection Measurements

Before going any further it is necessary to imagine
electricity and this has been likened to water pressure,
with containers connected by pipes to allow current to
flow.
However, it can be seen that the levels would equalise

as soon as enough water had run from one container to
the other. No current would then flow.
If water was added to the higher container at the same
rate that it is passing through the connecting tube, then
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the current will continue.
This is similar to a dry cell battery which is, infact a

corrosion cell. The current will flow through a
conductor when the two poles are connected in the same
way that water flows through the connecting tube at the
bottom of the two containers.
When the reaction energy has run out, the battery is
dead and the potential levels are the same at each pole.
A corroding nail is similar in that the corrosion current

flows from the anode of the nail, into the damp cloth
and then goes back through the cloth to the cathode of
the nail.
The corrosion reaction on the nail can be forced in a
variety of ways to be defined in this course.
Refering back to the water analogy, it is important to

understand that the pressure is caused by the height of
the water in each container and not the weight. The
water will fill any connecting tube and then the pressure
downwards will be greater in the vessel which has the
highest level. The reason for this is obviously due to the
imbalance between the pressures in the two containers
and electrical potentials have the same tendency when
connected by conductors.
This is fine when visualising a simple circuit such as a
single corrosion cell or a dry cell battery connected
through a light bulb, but in a cathodic protection circuit,
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or when corrosion takes place on a pipeline we have no

means of measuring each separate cell in this way.
If we examine the technique that is used in the

laboratory then it becomes clear that provision has been
made to eliminate outside influences in this 'open circuit
measurement'.
This is not possible in cathodic protection field work,

and yet laboratory derived theories are applied to
readings obtained in the field.
The situation on pipelines is that there are many
corrosion cells, all connected to the same metal and yet
each having it's own corrosion reaction. This can be
imagined like this.
It can be seen that it is impossible to measure the

pressure differences in each cell by making a single
connection to the common reservoir at the bottom.
However it would be possible to stop the flow of water
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in each of the cells by continuously making the water

level equal in each pair of containers.
However, it can be seen that the pressure measurement

in such a system would need to be between the lowest
water level and the highest water level in the whole
system.
This is achieved in cathodic protection by flooding all

the containers as shown in green. The current then stops
flowing between each pair. Because of the nature of
electricity this requires that current is drained from the
pipeline and pumped into the ground in sufficient
quantity to 'fill all the containers' or overcome the
corrosion reaction potential (EMF).
link to page showing water containers to demonstrate

electrical potentials and in relation to pipeline cathodic
protection
The difficulty in making this voltage measurement is
shown in the demonstration with water holders buried
in sand.
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We can measure the level of the water against the level

of the sand.
We cannot see the bottom of the containers but in this
case some are connected to others by a glass tube
through which the water can pass.
Water can pass between some of the visible containers
to others in the same way as corrosion current.
We can never know if the corrosion current has been
stopped when (whole system is in equilibrium) as we
have no reference to zero potential. It is out of sight and
reach!
In the same way, we cannot know the EMF (water
level) of each corrosion cell. We can only measure the
voltage between the potential of the ground and the
potential of ALL OF THE METAL. That is the
equivalent of the level of all of the water in the
containers. We do not know how deep each containers
is and we do not know which are connected.
The established method of measuring the effectiveness
of cathodic protection is by recording the voltage
between two variables. This cannot determine if
corrosion has stopped.
Open circuit measurements

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The term 'open cuircuit measurements' was

acknowledged by Dr Peabody of NACE when
recognising the problem that was termed 'the IR drop in
the soil'
Natural corrosion cells are much different from those

set up in a laboratory, as they can be physically minute
or large. Large corrosion cells can contain micro-cells
within the same area where anodic areas completely
surround cathodes or vice-versa. When studying such
cells, we are not able to separate the component parts,
and the measurements have come to be known as 'open
circuit measurements'.
This type of measurement involves connections to the
electrolyte as well as the metal and this requires the use
of an electrode. There is a danger that this will
introduce another EMF into the circuit, by the reaction
between the electrode and the electrolyte. We therefore
use an electrode in a solution of its own salts, which has
a known reaction EMF. We can then make a connection
between the electrolyte in the cell and the earth
electrolyte, in the hopes that there will be no electrical
disturbance to the measuring circuit.
In the laboratory, this disturbance is prevented by the

use of a glass capillary filled with inert gel, which is
used as a conductor from the reaction interface to the
reference electrode. The reference electrode is a metal
in a saturated solution of its own salts, as this has a
known reaction potential. Reference electrodes are
related to each other by known voltages and are used as
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international standards.
Without this consistency it would be impossible to

evaluate the reaction, develop theories or design
cathodic protection systems etc.
Unfortunately, it became the practice to apply
laboratory principles in cathodic protection field work.
This subject can now be studied in greater detail by
computer modeling which makes it clear that the fixed
potential is normally that of the pipeline metal, and the
variation in the measured voltage is due to the different
potentials elsewhere in the measuring circuit.
Imagine that we require to know the voltage of two dry
cell batteries which are arranged in parallel. That is to
say that each is in connection with a common conductor
to the positive pole and another common conductor (the
ground)to their negative poles.
Both conductors would carry equilibrium current

according to the reaction within each battery and the
voltage between the two conductors could be measured
by connecting a meter between the two. Unless the two
cells are separated, it is impossible to evaluate the
voltage of each battery. Even this is not as complex as
the expectancies of cathodic protection monitors.
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If we take two batteries and half bury them in an

electrolyte with their positive poles exposed and
connected, we have two corrosion cells in closer
condition to those found on a pipeline.
A circuit drawing of this arrangement will show that

current will pass through the ground to equalise the
pressures caused by the interface reactions within each
battery.
We must now try to evaluate the reaction within each
battery using a high resistance voltmeter and an
electrode. We cannot break the circuit or separate the
batteries but connections can be made to the metal or
the electrolyte or both. It will be seen that we are only
capable of measuring voltages across various spans of
the circuit, and cannot establish a reference within that
circuit. The laboratory techniques cannot be applied to
these conditions as there are too many variables which
are impossible to evaluate.
If we increase the number of half buried batteries
connected together, we improve the similarity to a
pipeline, but in order to be more realistic, we must
include some which have their positive poles buried.
This has been shown earlier in this page.
The complexity of the situation is now apparent and

what seemed to be a simple measurement, now seems
almost impossible.
A circuit diagram of the complex arrangement will
show that a different voltage will be measured with
every new position of the electrode, and this is born out
in cathodic protection field practice. It is especially
obvious on pipelines which are not connected to
cathodic protection systems and which have poor
coating.
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The different voltages are due to the variety of

potentials at each pole of the voltmeter. These can be
caused in many ways, as described later, but it is
important to realise that they are all components of the
voltage shown on the meter. It is possible to eliminate
them in the laboratory but not in the field, therefore they
must be evaluated and considered in the analysis of
survey results.
The problem is even more complex when cathodic
protection is introduced as this is an additional voltage
which is superimposed over all the others. Being
designed to drain charges from the whole of the
pipeline, it has an effect on the equilibrium of all the

other electrical influences. However, the dynamic
effects of an impressed current system can be removed
by taking voltage measurements immediately after the
system has been switched off.
This cannot be achieved where sacrificial anodes are

used, unless they have a special facility designed for
this purpose at construction stage.
The voltages obtained between the pipeline metal and a
randomly placed electrode have a certain amount of
value when compared to others obtained from
connections to the same pipeline. This is because of the
very low electrical resistance in this part of the
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corrosion and cathodic protection circuits.

link to page about electrical potentials and in relation to
pipeline cathodic protection
Students are now required to read Procedure 1a
Students are required to understand the instruments they

will be using.
Students are required to carry out experiments and

submit a report.
Link to some old report forms dating back to before the

original CIPS survey
Go to field trip
Back to Correspondence Course index
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Module 1

Cathodic Protection Training Course

Introduction to this course

This course includes practical work that is

Cathodic protection is an electrical way of stopping

This is a typical illustration of a corrosion cell with the

This meter is showing that there is a voltage of 0.530

This potential can then be compared to another potential

measurement. There is no reason to suppose that any

The above experiment will confirm that the graph base

Corrosion produces 'electro-motive-force', which drives

The point where current enters the metal is known as

Batteries work on this principle. When batteries reach

Pipelines are 'out of sight and out of mind' so little

Consultants are then asked why the pipeline failed and

Ship and boat owners are constantly aware of the

We are concerned with the analysis of data gathered

This old photograph was taken during the construction

The other metal is the 'cathode' into which the current

Impressed current cathodic protection

Alternating Current Electricity is generated by a sort of

A transformer-rectifier can be regarded as an electrical

THE BASIC CONCEPT OF

As stated before, everything has a 'potential', which has

electrical potential of the subject metal is reduced below

The corrosion reaction and cathodic protection

Battery technology can be

Corrosion within a battery can be controlled by external

All this is possible because the battery is a

CATHODIC PROTECTION IS DIFFERENT

The picture above is an equivalent circuit diagram of

The chemical composition and electrical conductivity of

Cathodic protection of such subjects as gathering

The metal element, of the reaction, can be well defined,

The magnitude of the current from each of these is

metal, the volts drop at the interface will decrease, and

Link to page on Cathodic Protection Measurements

However, it can be seen that the levels would equalise

the current will continue.

This is similar to a dry cell battery which is, infact a

A corroding nail is similar in that the corrosion current

Refering back to the water analogy, it is important to

or when corrosion takes place on a pipeline we have no

If we examine the technique that is used in the

This is not possible in cathodic protection field work,

It can be seen that it is impossible to measure the

in each of the cells by continuously making the water

However, it can be seen that the pressure measurement

This is achieved in cathodic protection by flooding all

link to page showing water containers to demonstrate

We can measure the level of the water against the level

Open circuit measurements

The term 'open cuircuit measurements' was

Natural corrosion cells are much different from those

In the laboratory, this disturbance is prevented by the

Without this consistency it would be impossible to

Both conductors would carry equilibrium current

If we take two batteries and half bury them in an

A circuit drawing of this arrangement will show that

The complexity of the situation is now apparent and

The different voltages are due to the variety of

pipeline, it has an effect on the equilibrium of all the

This cannot be achieved where sacrificial anodes are

corrosion and cathodic protection circuits.