10059 Using Soil Analysis and Corrosion Rate Modeling to Support ECDA and Integrity Management of Pipelines and Buried Plant Piping

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Product Number: 51300-10059-SG

ISBN: 10059 2010 CP

Author: Stephen F. Biagiotti, Steve Biles and Craig Chaney

Publication Date: 2010

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Operators of pipelines and buried plant piping are often faced with the challenge of prioritizing locations for assessment and selecting defensible intervals for reassessment. Technical staff that are responsible for corrosion mitigation recognize that understanding the effect of the soil on buried structures is a critical component in developing a representative picture of the external corrosion potential of buried structures. However, it is not always apparent how to use soil analysis data effectively in buried piping programs or how to integrate pipe polarization data in establishing reinspection intervals.

This paper addresses how soil analyses and related corrosion rate modeling can be integrated with indirect inspections (i.e., above ground surveys) data so that locations can be prioritized for further examination and assessment, and how the results of the modeling can be used as a substitute for default corrosion rates when setting reinspection intervals. The soil corrosiveness model developed for this purpose was derived from empirical data relating twenty-two soil and cathodic protection polarization attributes to long term corrosion pitting rates on buried steel pipe. We present a sampling approach that has proven effective in gathering information useful in corrosion evaluations, and we include discussion of the factors to consider when selecting locations for sampling and the soil sample collection and analysis process itself. Finally we describe the integration of the soil data with cathodic protection data to 1) rank the severity of the likely corrosion at each location and 2) provide quantitative estimates of the corrosion rate at each location.

Keywords: soil, corrosion, modeling, integration, cathodic protection