Optimal design of cathodic protection schemes: a power engineering applications

Exposure of the elements of power systems to the harshest of environments promotes premature aging. In applications where metal comes in direct contact with electrolytic substances, deradiation occurs rapidly and with grave consequences. Underground and submarine schemes are most susceptible to corrosion due to the nature of the surrounding mediums. As periodic inspections and routine maintenance are not possible where the elements are immersed in a medium such as water, earth or concrete, an effective cathodic protection system is essential. While current design procedures provide a sufficient defence against corrosion, the protection schemes are not necessarily cost efficient. A new technique is presented in this paper for minimizing the cost of sacrificial anode beds used in pipe-type cable projects. The proposed method minimises a nonlinear problem to permit the design of a sacrificial anode bed which satisfies all project design requirements at a minimal cost. Anode bed designs based upon the proposed method are considerably less expensive then those built using traditional heuristic techniques.<>