Mitigation of AC induced voltage on the metallic pipeline based-on the optimal design of KOH-Polarization cells

• Published in: Electric power systems research 2021-05, Vol.194, p.107081, Article 107081
• Main Authors: Al-Gabalawy, Mostafa, Mostafa, Mohamed A., Hamza, Abdel Salam
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: AC corrosion; Anodic polarization; Cathodic protection; Corrosion prevention; Discharge; Electric currents; Electricity distribution; Electrode polarization; Electromagnetic fields; Electromagnetics; Energy consumption; Gas pipelines; Induced voltage; Natural gas; Pipeline design; Pipelines; Polarization cell; Potassium hydroxides; Transmission lines; Utilities
• ISSN: 0378-7796; 1873-2046
• DOI: 10.1016/j.epsr.2021.107081

•Different mechanisms that describe the AC induced voltage are introduced.•Various KOH-PC models are considered and its effect on both AC and DC voltage.•Various transmission lines operating conditions such as phase transpositions, loading capacity variation are considered.•Comparative analysis of the proposed model results with measured results.•The optimal design of the KOH-PC is achieved using hill climbing algorithm. In many cases, the high voltage overhead transmission lines (HVOHTLs) pass near many infrastructures such as; water, crudes, or natural gas metallic pipelines. Many problems may result from the parallel existing between the HVOHTLs and these utilities, where the electromagnetic fields couple them. A corrosion problem has occurred if the pipelines are metallic, where these fields induce an AC voltage on the pipelines. Many methods are utilized to safely discharge this voltage, such as potassium hydroxide polarization cells (KOH-PCs), zinc anodes, or solid copper rods. This paper introduces the electrical modeling of the KOH-PC, in addition to the optimal design of it. The discharging of the induced AC voltage and the cathodic protection level are discussed based on the different configurations of the KOH-PCs existing in the commercial purpose and the optimal designed one. Moreover, this paper discusses the AC induced voltage in other operating conditions such as 1.3 times of the normal rated power and the transposition case of the HVOHTLs. Finally, it is found that the optimal design of the KOH-PC gives the best performance for the discharging of the AC induced voltage and the DC cathodic protection level.