One Day Seminar For Company Directors


Preamble

This seminar is designed to update those are responsible for executive decisions related to corrosion control of networks of pipelines and facilities.

The engineering activities are know as Cathodic Protection Engineering and come under the scientific study of corrosion control and electrochemistry.

The misunderstanding of this engineering practice is causing pipelines to leak unnecessarily and is costing billions of dollars world wide in lost production, interrupted transportation, loss of life, damage to the environment and social unrest.

The subjects under examination effect decisions that are made at the highest level, and it is important that the executives concerned should understand the consequences of cathodic protection activities and the reasons behind the opinions that are being expressed in international conferences on this subject.

It cannot be emphasised enough, that the subjects to be discussed in this seminar effect the whole of cathodic protection practice.  Misunderstanding can lead to the installation of systems that can actually cause corrosion failures rather than prevent them. 

Cathodic protection can be a most cost effective maintenance activity, but it is a science which needs to be applied by engineers who are acting on sound engineering principles, supported by proven scientific theories. 

We are all governed by the rules of nature and that is why scientists codify these laws so that we have a common understanding. Dropping a coin is a good example of how we understand that gravity is enforcement of a law that cannot be broken.  Learning equations and scientific notation, using unfamiliar written characters may be good for the ego but it is not helpful in applying knowledge in engineering.

Cathodic Protection Network not only knows of the specific scientific notation but can demonstrate repeatedly when it is correct and can apply this in field work.  That is why we make models and use instruments during our courses and are able to make true computer simulations of the technology we are applying.

As more pipeline systems are being installed, the technical problems become more complex and the global pipeline network has now grown into a huge integrated electrical network which must be balanced very skilfully to control the electro-chemical reactions that would otherwise destroy our assets.

In order to address this matter we must start by understanding the corrosion reaction that is found in dry cell batteries and move through to understanding the effects of solar energy (that has been proved to be related to an increase of 17% in pipeline corrosion failure leaks in the area of one international study in which I was involved).

The following demonstration is a good introduction to the subject of this seminar.  It shows how corrosion works and how it is measured.  I will set it up now and you will see visible corrosion products after three hours to confirm the theory of cathodic protection and the way we are making the measurements.

I will explain and demonstrate how the understanding of scientists was not transferred successfully to those who are trying to control corrosion in the field.

The result of this misunderstanding is that pipelines are leaking unnecessarily all over the world.  It is therefore essential to be clear about the measurement we are making at present and the measurement that is required by all scientists.  That is why this seminar is best attended by academics and field workers alike who can confirm all of the content.  It is why the policy makers must be clear about the advice they are given and the effect of the decisions they make.


PERIOD 1

Introduction

I am trying to bring our science into the understanding that everyone has in their every day lives.  I make no apologies to the scientists amongst us because they will learn where they have failed to communicate their knowledge to the end users.
 
The model you see is known as Orac 2 as it is a follow up model of the first model that students named Orac after the computer that featured in the TV series 'Blake 7'.

Orac 2 is an arrangement of dry cell batteries that is, in fact, similar to the arrangement of corrosion cells that confronts us every day on pipeline networks.  We use a system of measurement called ‘pipe-to-soil potential measurement’ that is a voltage obtained using a voltmeter or oscilloscope.   
The measuring circuit is completed by touching the ground with a copper/copper-sulphate electrode.  The idea is that we know the potential of the reaction between copper and opper-sulphate and can compare it with the reaction of the pipeline metal to the ground at that location.  This is comparing two reactions and is not measuring a ‘half-cell reaction’ as they do in a laboratory. The measurement we obtain is a voltage and NOT a potential.  This is the first misunderstanding that you must identify.

We can represent this part of the measuring circuit by putting a new battery (of known value) in a battery holder with a depleted battery (in series) and measuring the total voltage.  We then subtract the known potential value to discover the value of the depleted battery.

In closed circuit measuring conditions we can use this measurement to determine when corrosion has stopped and it is that reasoning that is behind the use of the ‘pipe-to-soil potential’ as a standard criterion for the achievement of ‘protection’ in the cathodic protection industry. 

You will now see that this is wrong thinking that has never been supported by science but is used as the basis of all cathodic protection design, monitoring and maintenance at this time.  

When you UNDERSTAND this fact you know more that the engineers and technicians who are presently trying to control corrosion on our global pipeline networks.  I have devised a simple demonstration so that this fact can be repeatedly observed.  We can see the displayed voltages as we apply this reasoning to the demonstration involving the corrosion of three nails and after three hours we will see corrosion products as predicted by theory and computer modelling.  I have well documented and photographed case studies that prove that these observations are true for the application of this technology in the field.

It is quickly apparent that the measuring circuit has more than two potentials in series because the readings change when the electrode is moved.  The negative of the meter is permanently attached to the negative pole of the battery and the other is permanently attached to the electrode that we are told to regard as a reference potential.  The only change in the measuring circuit is the location of the electrode point of contact so it must be that each location itself has a different potential.  We are measuring the potential of the ground itself, and this is an unknown variable.  The voltage on the display is therefore between the pipeline metal/electrolyte potential and the copper/copper-sulphate reaction potential AND whatever other influences affect the potential of the ground on which the electrode is placed.  This means that the data cannot be analysed mathematically or on a computer without further data.  
 
This is identical to the measuring process we use in field work.  It was recognised in the 1970’s that the criterion was in error and pipeline operators investigated the reason why leaks were occurring in places that had been regarded as ‘protected’ 

Field engineers simply believed what their clients specified and the pipeline owners contracted others to apply the science that had satisfied the theories in laboratory experiments.
The term ‘half-cell reaction’ was wrongly taken to infer that you could make a ‘half-cell’ and use it as a reference against which you can measure another potential.  In fact this can only be done in controlled circumstances in a ‘closed circuit measurement’ condition but the demonstration (involving the three nails) proves conclusively that you cannot do this in field work.

Pipelines have continued to fail due to corrosion that continues because of measurement errors and the pipeline owners engaged a consultant who confirmed that the copper/copper-sulphate electrode is acceptable as a reference.  The corrosion control industry has confirmed that the measurement should be taken using a standard reference electrode and nobody could understand what was wrong.  Field engineers teach cathodic protection technicians, who in turn form their own service companies, who continued using similar techniques.

Specialised equipment is used, world-wide, and is very efficient, but there are many disastrous failures, which could be prevented by proper measurement of the corrosion voltages.  It has been recognised by NACE and ISO and many people in the industry, but they have not presented a solution to the problem.

I recognised the error within 20 minutes of being shown how the measurement is made but it took me some months to find our how to accommodate this understanding within the work that I was being paid to carry out.


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Period 2

It took me a couple of years to realise that a solution to this problem had to be devised or corrosion will never be controlled by applied cathodic protection.

In medical science it is common practice to experiment with cultures of the bacteria and samples of the virus that is causing the trouble and it was apparent that we needed a corrosion cell that we can measure and control so that we can see the success of our work.

The ‘criterion’ for achieving cathodic protection is widely accepted to be a voltage measurement that is supposed to indicate an equilibrium between the metal and the electrolyte at which no metal is going into solution.  No corrosion is taking place because the electrochemical reaction has been halted.

This criterion has been under continuous review for at least 50 years that I know of , and there is still no advice that is backed by demonstrable evidence, published by NACE, ISO or any of the corrosion control institutions of which I am aware. 

I presented the Alexander Cell to the Institute of Corrosion Science and Technology in London in the mid 1980’s and this was published in two international journals specialising in corrosion control and pipeline management.

The Alexander Cell has been extensively field trialled and in 2009 I made presentations at two international conferences in Brazil, announcing it as a definitive criterion for cathodic protection.

In the 1980’s the Alexander Cell was presented by Ed Littlewood to the National Physical Laboratory in the UK but he described an arrangement of coupons that is NOT the one that I invented. The Dr Peter Francis of the National Physical Laboratory produced a report that was circulated to 7 parties before I saw a copy.  One copy went to Bryan Wyatt, the Managing Director of Global Cathodic Protection who have made me an offer for the Alexander Cell that I had not signed.

Jim Gosden, Chair of the British Standards Committee for cathodic protection (CP1021) showed me a copy of the report and highlighted 17 direct scientific untruths to which had objected and demanded that the report be withdrawn.

However, a copy of the report had already been sent by Global to the Sirte Oil Company if Libya as a result of which a contract worth £140,000.00 was cancelled.

The national Physical Laboratory report stated that the Alexander Cell was unnecessary due to the 'satisfactory performance of existing practices'. 

I visited the National Physical Laboratory and demonstrated my suggestions on models similar to those presented today.  Dr Frances said "We did not realise what was going on in field work."

I visited the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST) and made my presentations to Dr David Scantlebury. He agreed that I was correct but would not write anything.  I pressed him in correspondence and the only reply I received was a curt note to read a book on electrochemistry.

To this day, this sophisticated system of cathodic protection monitoring continues to fail, consultants continue to offer excuses, and service companies continue to hoax their clients.  

PUNCHLINE

This story is the history of cathodic protection, and pipeline operators are suffering leaks because of this misunderstanding between the scientists and those who apply the science in reality. 

The amazing thing about this situation is that the error can easily be demonstrated and is manifest in most cathodic protection field measurements.   
These measurements are used in all cathodic protection design and application calculations and are the basis of all commissioning and monitoring procedures.  
It is because these measurements are so fundamental that specialists avoid a change of concept that would revolutionize the practical application of their work.

It is hard to believe that there are many engineers, whose work is affected by cathodic protection, but who do not question such basic electrical misconception.  Some have even quoted that there is a 'different form of electricity' involved and that complications arise because the subject is electro-chemical.  


Period 3

The Alexander Cell is the logical solution to the problem of monitoring corrosion as it is a corrosion cell.

I will now demonstrate how it works so that you can see that it is a simple fact that can be repeatedly observed by scientists, engineers, technicians, software developers, and operatives at basic field level of understanding.

The implications of this fact change everything as we no longer have to rely on complex scientific notation, equations and theories.  We can make adjustments to our CP systems and see the results immediately or, if preferred, leave the cell in place for three hours and actually see the corrosion products.

We can also see the effects of other electrical flux in the ground such as each of the effects that have been identified by specialists and scientists over many decades.  These can be seen as they are actually happening but it makes it necessary to re-educate those who have been misinformed.

The Alexander Cell makes it possible to train personnel in the application of cathodic protection in a way that can be proved instantly in theory, in a laboratory, in an office and in the field.

However, it disturbs the confidence of those who have been applying advice that does not work, but have made a good living because of the time taken for the pipelines to actually fail.

If used correctly the Alexander Cell is sensitive to all electrical flux that effects the pipeline networks in the area of use.  This makes it possible to calculate the causes of such disturbance as it is happening and make adjustments accordingly through a main computer that is properly programmed.

The CPN Dynamic Project is a computer software development project that is being developed on an open source basis using the business model of successful software such as browsers, Facebook, Google etc.

We require a team to work with the other activities that are necessary to control corrosion.

We need to interface existing data gathering instruments and probes with our software so that the field operatives know the impact of their field work as they progress.

The personnel need to be trained and managed on a global scale as all pipelines are inter-related by the laws of nature.

Research and development must keep up with the understanding accumulated by all of the activities and academia must be informed and updated dynamically.