Due to operational requirements including the production of heavy oil from oil-sands by the Steam-Assisted Gravitational Drainage (SAGD) process, the operating temperature of pipelines is increasing. Pipelines are being operated at temperatures as high as 150oC. To maintain such temperatures, the external surface of the pipeline is protected by an insulator in addition to an anticorrosion coating. All underground pipelines are further protected by cathodic protection (CP). The cathodic disbondment (CD) test is commonly used for determining compatibility between external polymeric pipeline coatings and CP. This test measures the coating disbondment caused by electrical stress. The test evaluates the ability of the coating not to loosen or disbond under the stress of the imposed cathodic potential. Several standard procedures are available to conduct the CD test at temperatures up to 65oC. The influence of various factors affecting cathodic disbondment of anticorrosion coatings below insulators was investigated at 150oC.

Keywords: pipeline coatings, high-temperature pipeline, cathodic disbondment, temperature Government