Laboratory tests were conducted to determine whether or not corrosion of lead cable sheath can occur under cathodic protection conditions. Some of the runs were made in cells containing the aqueous solutions of chlorides or chlorides and alkali while other tests were made with the lead cable sheaths in contact with soil saturated with the various solutions. The results from all of these tests indicated that no corrosion of the cable sheath occurred in any of these environments so long as the cathode was receiving protective current. It was found, however, that corrosion and pitting of lead cable sheath could occur when the protective current was interrupted. It was determined that the cathode products of previous cathodic protection constitute an environment for potentially serious corrosion at any time that the protective current ceases to flow to any part of the lead cable sheath. 5.2.1
Lead Cable Sheath Corrosion Under Cathodic Protection Conditions★
WALTER H. BRUCKNER is a research associate professor of electrical and metallurgical engineering at the University of Illinois and is technical director of the Cathodic Protection Laboratory there. Prior to coming to the university in 1938 he was on the research staffs of the Naval Research Laboratory, American Smelting and Refining Co. and Crucible Steel Co. His publications have been in physical metallurgy, fatigue of metals, welding, brittle fracture of steel and corrosion. He is author of a book "Metallurgy of Welding," Pitman, 1954. Mr. Bruckner is a member of AIME, ASM, AWS, NACE and Sigma Xi.
RAY M. WAINWRIGHT is Director of Engineering at the Good-All Electric Manufacturing Co., Ogallala, Nebraska. Formerly he was an associate professor of electrical engineering at University of Illinois, Urbana. He has worked as electrical engineer for power companies on corrosion problems and has taught courses in electrical circuit analysis and engineering economics. Mr. Wainwright is active in technical affairs of AIEE and NACE and has been responsible for short courses on cathodic protection given in recent years at his school. He has published many papers on engineering economics, including cathodic protection. He has a BS in EE from Montana State College and an MS from the University of Illinois.
