The Circulating Water Intaking Structure at the South Texas Project (STP) plant includes pump units submerged in brackish water. The steel pump units are confined by surrounding concrete walls. The water basin inside the concrete walls are connected to the open saltwater lake through a narrow but very conductive ionic path. Installation of cathodic protection local anodes to protect the steel pump units is not feasible due to various constraints. Protection of the pump units using remote anodes is thus examined in this study. An experimental setup is built to check the effectiveness of a remote anode for protecting a simulated structure in a simulated confined area that is connected to the open areas through a narrow but very conductive ionic path. In addition, a field test confirmed the effectiveness of remote anodes in protecting the pump units in the confined area. Based on the simulated experiment and the field test, a remote anode sled is proposed in the design of the cathodic protection system.

Subject
Circuits, Steel structures, Water, Anodic protection, Impressed current cathodic protection, Walls, Structures, Wiring, Anode resistance, Rectifiers, Concrete, Electrode potential, Anodes
Keywords:
Impressed Current Cathodic Protection, Remote Anode, Ionic Conductive Path, Attenuation, Confined Area, Cathodic Protection Equivalent Circuit
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2020
Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP)
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