2016 OCC Pipeline Safety Conference

May 10 through 13, 2016

Corrpro
Hector Hernandez
Matthew Coburn
 Who is Corrpro?

• The world’s leading provider of corrosion control and integrity

engineering services
• Exclusively involved in condition assessments and corrosion
prevention with over 50 years of experience
• Corrpro offices:
• US = 26
• Canada = 10
• UK = 3
• Saudi Arabia = 1
• 887 employees (500+ engineers, technicians and support staff)
• Specific expertise in pipeline / tank integrity and asset management
Corrpro Technologies & Services
• Corrosion prevention engineering
• Corrosion and soil/groundwater laboratory testing
• Material selection
• Cathodic protection design and construction (EPC)
• AC and DC interference modeling and mitigation
• Internal corrosion control programs
• Protective coating technology
• Condition assessments
• Corrosion monitoring systems
• Pipeline integrity management programs
An Introduction to AC Interference
Effects on Pipelines
• Background
• Utilidors
• Criteria
• Options
• Testing
• Mitigation
• Monitor
Many Complex Factors Contribute to AC
Interference & Determining Effective Mitigation

• Coating Quality and Cathodic Protection

• Pipeline vs. Transmission Line Geometry and Proximity
• Length of Parallelism and Crossings
• Variations in Soil Resistivities
• Electrical Breaks in Pipeline, e.g. Isolation Flanges

• Transmission Line Conductor Configuration

• High Steady State Current / High Voltage Magnitude
• Transmission Line Phase Transpositions

• Electrical Fault Currents

• Tower grounding and Shield/Sky Wires Connecting Towers
Causes:
“Utilidors” - Joint Utility Corridors
• Rights-of-way are increasingly difficult to obtain for
new pipeline projects and for new power line
projects

• An attractive option is shared rights-of-way, i.e.

“Utilidors”

• Future projections are for more and more Utilidors

• Utilidors can range from a few thousand feet to

1000+ miles
Causes: “Utilidors” - Joint Utility
Corridors
• Shared ROW
• Congestion
• Demand
• Coatings
• Growth
• Regulated
Causes: “Utilidors” - Joint Utility
Corridors

Utilidors
Come in All
Shapes and
Sizes
AC Mitigation & Control - North American
Standards/Codes and Regulations

• NACE International SP0177

• IEEE – Institute of Electrical Electronic Engineers
• CSA – Canadian Standards Association
• CFR 192 & 195
• OQ, Operator In-House

• 15 VAC Above and Below Grade

• AC Current Density: 20 A/m² - 100 A/m²
• Coating Stress Voltage: 3,000 to 5,000 volts for FBE
Safety: AC Interference Concerns

Safety – Step & Touch Potentials

• General Public
• Company Personnel
• Livestock & Other Animals

Pipeline Integrity / Asset Protection

• Impact on CP effectiveness & monitoring
• AC Corrosion
• SCADA & Other Equipment Reliability
• Coating Damage
• Pipe Wall Integrity
Steady-State AC Interference on Pipeline
from Changing Electromagnetic Field

Magnetic Field Produced By

AC Current In Overhead Lines

Soil
Pipeline
Options and Solutions

• AC Interference Causes & Concerns

• Induced AC
• Power Line Faults
• AC Current Densities
• AC Interference Mitigation Solutions
• Front-End Engineering Analyses
• Materials and Methods
• Safe Construction Practices
Step-Touch Potential (Non-Insulated)
Step-Touch Potential (Insulated)
AC Impact From A Power Line Fault

Shield (“Sky”) Wire To

Adjacent Towers

Fault Current Counterpoise Cable To

Adjacent Towers
Underground High-Voltage AC
Transmission Systems

Copper Ground
Cable (Typ.) Steady
A
B
C
B
-State
C A

Pipeline

Power
A C
Line to
B
C
B
A Ground
Pipeline
Fault
High Voltage Transmission Line Down
AC Corrosion: How Do You Know?
AC Corrosion:
AC Corrosion:
AC Corrosion:
Location of AC corrosion
indication detected from DCVG
Help! Help! Help!
I need criteria for AC corrosion!

• AC Safety:
• NACE SP0177 – 15 Volts

• AC Corrosion:
• European Standard CEN-EN 15280 – Almost done
• PRCI AC Corrosion Research (Elsyca/Corrpro/MetriCorr)
• NACE TG430 – Standard practice is under construction
 Common AC Corrosion Thresholds
AC Current Density
Less than 2-3 A/Ft.2 (20-30 A/m2)
3 – 10 A/Ft.2 (30-100 A/m2)
Greater than
10 A/Ft.2 (100 A/m2)
AC Corrosion Significance
No or Low Likelihood
Medium Likelihood
Very High Likelihood
Even in the Presence of Apparently Effective CP

Qualitative only! Nothing about rate of corrosion, which is

what really counts! Right?
Factors that Influence AC Corrosion
Likelihood of AC corrosion can be determined by
approximating the AC current density using Ohm’s Law:

8VAC
where,
i=
i = AC current density
ρπd
VAC = AC voltage of pipeline to remote earth (which is where?)
ρ = soil resistivity (at holiday, not bulk soil – how do I
measure?)
d = diameter of a circular holiday having an area equal to that
of the actual holiday (million $ question!)
Dangerous Equation! Use at
your own risk!
Datalogging Equipment
Datalogging reveals conditions overlooked
by instantaneous (“spot”) measurements

30
AC PIPE-TO-SOIL POTENTIAL (Volts)

25

20

15

10

0
12:00 PM 6:00 PM 12:00 AM 6:00 AM 12:00 PM 6:00 PM 12:00 AM
AC Interference Modeling
• Soil Conditions
• Pipeline Characteristics
• Pipeline and Power System
Alignments
• Power System Characteristics
• Operating Voltage
• Fault Currents
• Phase Transpositions
• Tower Configurations
• Static Wire
• Grounding Design
• Counterpoise Data
• Substation Locations
AC Interference Modeling

• Computer Aided Predictive Modeling

• CDEGS / Right-of-Way Software
• Accurate Predictions of Real-life Pipeline
Phenomena
• Mitigation Designs Verified with Models
• Graphical and Text Output
• Design of Mitigation Systems
• Innovative Grounding System Configurations
• Proven, Established Engineering Solutions
Modeling Output
RIGHT OF WAY SCHEM ATIC AC Circuit 3 - 115KV AC Circuit 7 - 500KV
AC Circuit 2 - 230KV AC Circuit 6 - 500KV
5
Crossings not shown for clarity AC Circuit 1 - 500KV AC Circuit 5 - 115KV
45
.

4 Cypress Pipeline AC Circuit 4 - 230KV

35
.

25
.

15
.

05
.

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160

STEADY STATE PIPE TO EARTH VOLTAGE

120

No Mitigation
Single Ribbon Mitigation
Double Ribbon Mitigation
90
VOLTS

60

30

15-Volt Maximum

0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160
CONSTRUCTION MILEPOST
Safety During Construction
Safety Procedures
Safety Procedures
Safety: Testing
AC Mitigation & Control - What’s the Solution ?
Parallel Mitigation, e.g. Zinc Ribbon(s) or Copper Cables(s)
MINIMUM MEASURES
CP Personnel Safety – Dead-Front Test Stations

Design Tip:
Test heads can be designed
& supplied with custom
terminal ID labeling
Personnel Safety
Equipotential Gradient Control Mats at Test Stations
Test Station 7’x7’ Zinc Ribbon Mat
Parallel Ribbon & Mat
connected to pipe “Spiral” – 8 inches
through DC-decoupler, below grade under well-
a.k.a “PCR” drained gravel pad

Pipeline

Parallel Zinc Ribbon

Solid-State DC Decouplers

Across Isolation Flanges Between Pipe & Zinc Ribbon or Copper

Cable At Test Stations
Various Types & Ratings – Use The Appropriate Device For The
Particular Application
Fence Grounding
AC Interference Quiz

1. Do you have AC concerns or problems?

2. What tools/technologies do you use to monitor for AC interference
and the effectiveness of your AC interference mitigation system?
3. Do you believe induced AC causes/increases corrosion?
4. How many of you use coupon technology for CP monitoring? For
AC interference monitoring? For DC interference monitoring?
5. If you are concerned about AC corrosion, is increasing the level of
CP a suitable solution?
Coupon Potential & Current Measurements

AC Current
(-)
mAac/dc (+)
Vac/dc (-)
Density
(+)
on / instant-off (A/sq.m or
A/sq.ft) =
Measured
Current /
Coupon
Surface Area
PIPE COUPON
REF.
 How Best to Detect/Monitor AC
and DC Interference?

OR OR

Simple Electrical Complete Monitoring

Simple
Resistance (ER) System – Sophisticated
Coupon
Corrosion Rate Technology but
Probe Straightforward to Use
 Measuring is knowledge
Corrosion rate

DC ‘On’ potential

MetriCorr Logger
DC IR compensated Potential with Remote
Monitoring Option

Ref.
DC current density
Electrode

AC potential
Pipeline

MetriCorr Probe
AC current density

Flush type Rod type

Time-stamped, simultaneous data collection, as frequent

as 1 set of readings (7 channels of data) every minute
Examples from the field:
Moddest level of CP does protect, even under high AC
Evolution of Technology

Technology Release
Probe – 2004, Qty. = 2400
Logger – 2005, Qty. = 750
M-Link RMU – 2010
M-Report software/database - 2011

Unique, mature “fit for

purpose” multi-channel
corrosion monitoring system
based on multi-year industry
sponsored research
 CONCLUSIONS – AC CORROSION

1. AC corrosion is real!
2. The mechanisms causing AC corrosion can be quite complex and are
not completely understood, but proven, straightforward instrumentation
to monitor the corrosion & the effectiveness of any mitigation does exist
3. AC corrosion can be controlled in part by optimizing CP levels – not too
little, not too much, just enough
4. In the presence of AC, excessive CP or cathodic DC interference can
increase corrosion rates dramatically
5. Instantaneous electrical measurements alone can be misleading
• Datalogging corrosion rate determines if there is a problem
• Concurrently logging various AC and DC electrical parameters
determines the cause(s) of the problem and helps establish a suitable
mitigation strategy
…Thank You Very Much

• QESTIONS???