Protection systems Installation

Where stray currents from a man-made source of direct current are a potential problem, metallically bonding the structure of concern to the source of the dc is often used to mitigate the corrosion that would otherwise occur. This is a common method of control where pipelines are subject to the adverse effects from stray currents generated by light rail transit systems, d-c welding machines, and impressed current cathodic protection systems installed on other nearby structures. 

Anodic protection has been most extensively used to protect equipment for handling sulfuric add. Sales of anodically protected heat exchangers used to cool sulfuric acid manufacturing plants have represented one of the more successful ventures for this technology These heat exchangers are sold complete with the anodic protection systems installed and have a commercial advantage in that less costly materials can be used. 

Prior to moving the rig and all auxiliary equipment the site will have to be cleared of vegetation and levelled. To protect against possible spills of hydrocarbons or chemicals the surface area of a location should be coated with plastic lining and a closed draining system installed. Site management should ensure that any pollutant is trapped and properly disposed of. 

Depending upon the design criteria of the installed suppression system, an unsuppressed explosion overpressure of around 7 to 10 bar is reduced to a suppressed reduced explosion overpressure which lies in the range of Fred,max = 0-2 to 1 bar. Thus, vessels need to be explosion resistant for an overpressure of maximum 1 bar (ISO Standard 6184/4, Explosion Protection Systems Paii 4 Determination of Efficacy of Explosion Suppression Systems, Geneva, 1985). 

NFPA 780 Standard for the Installation of Lightning Protection Systems. National Fire Protection Association, Quincy, MA. 

In the cathodic protection of storage tanks, potentials should be measured in at least three places, i.e., at each end and at the top of the cover [16]. Widely different polarized areas arise due to the small distance which is normally the case between the impressed current anodes and the tank. Since such tanks are often buried under asphalt, it is recommended that permanent reference electrodes or fixed measuring points (plastic tubes under valve boxes) be installed. These should be located in areas not easily accessible to the cathodic protection current, for example between two tanks or between the tank wall and foundations. Since storage tanks usually have several anodes located near the tank, equalizing currents can flow between the differently loaded anodes on switching off the protection system and thus falsify the potential measurement. In such cases the anodes should be separated. 

Figure 11 -7 shows the basic circuit diagram for a tank with two domes. The protection current flows via the two interconnected openers of the cover grounding switch to the cathode connection. If one of the covers is opened, the protection current circuit is broken and the tank grounded via the closing contact. The unconnected cable connection of the tank is without current and can be used for measuring potential. By this method, only one tank at a time is separated from the protection system while the other parts of the installations are still supplied with protection current. 

The protection station must be carefully maintained (see Section 10.5). The function of the rectifier should be monitored at monthly intervals. The pipe/soil potentials of the pipelines should be measured at least once a year. The IR-free potentials should be determined as far as possible by the switching method, especially when new pipework is installed and connected to the protection system. 

Figure 20-9 shows the negative effect of uninsulated heating elements on corrosion protection. In a 250-liter tank, an electric tube heating element with a 0.05-m surface area was screwed into the upper third without electrical separation, and in the lower third a tinned copper tube heat exchanger with a 0.61 -m surface area was built in. The Cu heat exchanger was short-circuited for measurements, as required. For cathodic protection, a potential-controlled protection system with impressed current anodes was installed between the two heating elements. The measurements were carried out with two different samples of water with different conductivities. 

A tank with a fixed cover of plain carbon steel for storing 60°C warm, softened boiler feed water that had a tar-pitch epoxy resin coating showed pits up to 2.5 mm deep after 10 years of service without cathodic protection. Two separate protection systems were built into the tank because the water level varied as a result of service conditions. A ring anode attached to plastic supports was installed near the bottom of the tank and was connected to a potential-controlled protection rectifier. The side walls were protected by three vertical anodes with fixed adjustable protection current equipment. 

The entire contents of the protected system are lost when the disc ruptures. This necessitates a shutdown of the operation for replacement of the disc, unless a block valve is installed upstream. 

This chapter introduces the basic items of design and specification for the principal systems and components of an electrical industrial installation. Electrical supply systems are discussed with regard to interface with the supply authorities and the characteristics. Salient features of switchgear, transformers, protection systems, power factor correction, motor control equipment and standby supplies are identified and discussed together with reference to the relevant codes of practice and standards. The equipment and systems described are appropriate to industrial plant installations operating at typically 11 kV with supply capacities of around 20MVA. 

Recommended Practice Design, Installation, Operation and Maintenance of Internal Cathodic Protection Systems in Oil Treating Vessels, RP-05-75, NACE, Houston (1975)... 

The anode may be installed in conventional groundbeds or be laid in close proximity to the cathode, e.g. parallel to a pipeline route. The anode may be buried either directly in soil or in carbonaceous backfill. The major applications for this material are tank protection, internal protection, mitigation of poor current distribution and hot spot protection, i.e. to supplement conventional cathodic protection systems and provide increased levels of cathodic protection in areas that exhibit low levels of protection. 

Where a.c. supplies exist, transformer-rectifiers are the most economical source of d.c. for cathodic protection systems. In the case of pipelines, standard transformer-rectifiers, either oil or air cooled, can be employed. They range in size from 5A, 5V for small systems to 100 A, 48 V for major pipeline schemes. A typical output for a well-coated cross-country pipeline in the UK would be 5 A, 48 V. In the case of sea-water jetties where the voltage required is usually low because of the lower sea-water resistivity, a typical rectifier size for a major installation would be 500 A, 18 V. For offshore pipelines and loading platforms where a fire hazard exists, it is usual to employ certified flameproof or intrinsically safe rectifiers to overcome any possibility of fire hazard should faults develop in the unit. 

Manually Controlled System A manually controlled system comprises one or more transformer-rectifiers each with its associated control panels which supply the d.c. to the various anodes installed in the water box spaces. Each transformer-rectifier is provided with its own control panel where each anode is provided with a fuse, shunt and variable resistor. These enable the current to each anode to be adjusted as required. Reference cells should be provided in order to monitor the cathodic protection system. In the case of a major power station, one transformer-rectifier and associated control panel should be provided for separate protection of screens, circulating water pumps and for each main condenser and associated equipment. 

The measurement of current densities in the vicinity of a cathodically protected structure is a comparatively new principle used chiefly to monitor the effectiveness of offshore protection systems. These measurements are undertaken by twin half-cell devices either installed for stationary use or moved about the structure by diver or remote controlled vehicle. 

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