Instant EOFF measurement error in cathodically protected pipelines: A parametric assessment study

Buried pipeline systems benefit from mitigation wires (earthing systems) in order to be protected against electric shock hazards. Moreover, cathodic protection (CP) systems are incorporated into pipeline systems to provide protection against corrosion by injecting an impressed DC current. DC decoupling devices are normally installed between the pipeline's metallic wall and the earthing wire, functioning as a filter that blocks the DC component (of the CP system) while allowing the hazardous AC interference current to be dissipated into the earth. However, the internal capacitance of the DC decoupling devices introduces an error in the routine survey measurement of the CP effectiveness, as frequently reported by pipelines' system operators. In this paper, the factors influencing this measurement error are investigated by modeling the electrical behavior of the CP-pipeline system. This investigation concluded that the capacitive discharge time constant and by extension, the measurement error highly depends on the pipeline resistance to remote earth (coating resistance), as well as on the number and the capacitance C of the capacitive DC decoupling devices. To this extent, methods for minimizing Eoff measurement error are proposed.