Based on Federal laws, pipeline operators in USA were required to develop a proactive Pipeline Integrity Management Plan to manage risk and protect public areas near pipelines. NACE initially published RP0502-02 for ECDA (External Corrosion Direct Assessment), and standard practices for other methodologies followed. Since many techniques used for ECDA rely on electrochemical tools, soil contact is an important consideration from an applicability standpoint. Contact resistance can cause increase in signal-to-noise ratio and the concern is how this may bias the recorded data or mask anomalies. DA was recently applied to pipelines of various design & operating conditions that traverse desert conditions like arid soil, and “Sabkha” (salt flat). This was an ideal opportunity to determine the effectiveness of the methods in extremely arid and high saline conditions with consideration of electrical and geological shielding. Results are presented and a comparison is made between predicted & actual findings.

Subject
Electric current, Indirect inspection, External corrosion direct assessment, Piping, Sand, Pipelines, Tools, Soil resistivity, Coating surveys, Corrosion detection, Coating defects, Soil, Microbiologically influenced corrosion
Keywords:
Direct Assessment, ECDA, coating defects, arid soil, Sabkha (salt flat), sand dunes, coating disbondment, shielding, Direct Examination
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2021
Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP)
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