Measures in the Case of Dissimilar Metal Installations

In some service stations, stainless steel or aluminum materials are used for all the filters, pipes and fittings to maintain the purity of the fuel. The rest potentials of these materials are different from that of plain carbon steel (see Table 2-4). 

Cathodic protection of different materials in installations of dissimilar metals is only possible if the protection potential ranges of the individual materials overlap. Section 2.4 gives information on the protection potential ranges of various systems. If there is no overlapping, then insulating couplings must be installed. This is also appropriate and even necessary if the protection current densities are very different. 

If the individual materials are separated by insulating couplings but connected to a protection system, the connections must be made through diodes to avoid bimetallic corrosion when the protection system is shut down (see Fig. 11-6). Furthermore, the different protection currents should be adjusted via variable resistors. 

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