Failure of underground steel storage tanks is due to one primary phenomena - corrosion. Most steel tanks installed during the fifties, sixties, and seventies were installed without adequate corrosion protection and today, threaten our groundwater resources with contamination. However, the sti-P3® system was developed in the late sixties to overcome some of the corrosion protection design inadequacies of those other tanks. The system uses three simple, yet essential corrosion design elements; high quality dielectric coating, electrical isolation, and cathodic protection. A brief history of the system's development is provided with ensuing technological improvements. Quality assurance of key product elements combined with independent random inspections of steel tank fabricators assures a continous high quality product. On site cathodic protection monitoring readings will reinforce a proper tank installation and adequate system design and performance. A recent field study indicated that continuity with other structures, mainly piping, was the primary cause for inadequate cathodic protection readings.

Subject
Steel structures, Coatings, Materials, Piping, Anode potential, Cathodic protection, Zinc anodes, Soil resistivity, Installation, Steel, Storage tanks, Corrosion protection, Soil
© 1988 Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP). All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of AMPP. Positions and opinions advanced in this work are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of AMPP. Responsibility for the content of the work lies solely with the author(s).
1988
Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP)
You do not currently have access to this content.