Disbonded, shielding coatings over pipeline steel can oflen lead to serious corrosion problems that cannot be readily controlled by conventional cathodic protection systems. Cathodic protection effectiveness in these cases is limited by the high resistance electrical path in the crevice formed between the steel surface end disbonded coating. This study investigates the hypothesis that application of pulsed cathodic protection may improve the penetration of protective cathodic protection beneath disbandments to provide more effective corrosion control. Polarization experiments beneath a simulated disbandment were conducted using conventional and pulsed cathodic protection. Current demand, potential protiles, polarization, pH differences and effectiveness of each system were calculated. Results indicate that certain pulsed
waveforms increase the distance in a crevice at which protective potentials can be achieved.
Keywords: cathodic protection, pulse, potential, current, polarization, disbonded, coatings, corrosion, pipeline