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Methods for metrological assessment of insulating appurtenances in cathodically protected pipelines
Matthias Zöbl
Supervision: Univ.-Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Dr. Bernhard Zagar
Buried pipelines are protected against corrosion by electrical measures ("cathodic corrosion protection") and insulated from grounded pipeline segments by insulating appurtenances such as insulating flanges or insulating joints. Since the insulation resistance of these appurtenances is often reduced by mechanisms inside the pipeline, monitoring of the insulation condition is necessary.
Fig. 1: insulating flange
Therefore, in cooperation with RAG Austria AG, opens an external URL in a new window, different methods for automated assessment of insulating appurtenances were researched, investigated and compared. The aim was to identify a measurement method that could be used to develop an appropriate measurement system for the application at hand.
In order to achieve this, the functionality of existing systems and potentially suitable new approaches was investigated and their theoretical performance with respect to the given problem was determined. The systems discussed were then evaluated on the basis of universally applicable evaluation criteria and compared in tabular form.
Keywords: cathodic corrosion protection, insulating appurtenance, insulating flange, insulating joint, insulation resistance, current measurement
November 9, 2022
