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Telluric Currents: A Meeting of Theory and Observation

Article  in  Corrosion -Houston Tx- · September 1998

DOI: 10.5006/1.3284894

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 ~..
CORROSION ENGINEERING SECTION

Telluric Currents:
A Meeting of Theory and Observation

D.H. Boteler' and W.H. Seager.'

ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION

Pipe-to-soil (PIS)potential variations resulting from telluric
currents have been observed on pipelines in many locations.
However, it has never been clear which parts ofa pipeline
will experiencethe worst effects. Two studies were con-
ducted to answer this question. Distlibuted-source
transmission
ifmod l . line (DSn) theory was applied to the problem
0 e mg geomagnetic ind uc"UJn . l .mesoTh tS
"'-. m pipe . the ory
predicted that the largest PIS potential variations would
occur at the ends ofthe pipeline. The theory also predicted
that large PIS potential variations, ofopposite sign, should
occur on either side of an insulating flange. Independently,
an observation program was conducted to determine the
change in teUuric current PIS potential variations and to
design counteractive measures along a pipeline in northern
Canada. Observations showed that the amplitude ofPIS
potential fluctuations had maxima at the northern and south-
ern ends ofthe pipeline. Ajurther set of recordings around
an insulating flange showed large
if it.
0 oppos e sign, on e ith ers id eo ifth eJfI~~ ge. A greement
Telluric current effects have been observed in
Alaska,! Canada,2-3 Norway,4 Australia,5 New
Zealand,6 the United States,7 and Africa.s Their
occunence coincides with variations in the earth's
magnetic field. and it generally is recognized that the
tellunc cunents are dnven by '. the mduced . electric
field produce~ by the changmg magnetic field. Al-
though at a different frequency, the processes are the
same as those involved in the production of alternat-
ing cunents lAC) in pipelines sharing a right-of-way
with a high-voltage power line. Past telluric cunent
observations have shown that problems are worse at
particular sites, but there has been no generally ac-
cepted theory to explain the greater susceptibility of
these locations. Pipeline surveys make successive
observations at a series of locations. Thus when
PIS potential variations.. ..' .
tellunc cunents are
. observed, It often IS not possIble

between the observations and theoretical predictions was to tell whether theIr appearance resulted from a
remarkable. While the observations confimted the theory. the change of site or a change of time. Using these tech-
theory explains how PIS potential variations are produced niques, it has been impossible to determine how the
by telluric currents and provides the basis for design of pipeline potential varied along the pipe ata particu-
cathodic protection systems for pipelines that can counteract lar instant.
any adverse telluric effects. Two independent works recently have been
.. l .me the ory,
,..UJUted-source transmtSS1On
KEY WORDS : dtS", brought together and are spawning new investiga-
modeling, pipelines, soU,telluric currents tions into the effects of telluric cunents on pipelines.
Theoretical work has shown that pipeline potentials
should have a characteristic pattern resulting from
S b tied '
u m1 .or pu
bli
cation
J
une
1997
: in r
evi
se
d '
.onn.
M
arc
h telluric currents. Concurrently, some innovative mea-

1998. surements have provided the fIrst observed potential

.GeomagneticLaboratory,Geological Surveyof Canada.1 profiles along a whole pipeline. Combination of the
Observatory
..CORRPRO,
Crescent,Ottawa,Ontario.Canada.KIAOY3.
200-807ManningRoad.NE. ManningPark,Calgary. th eore ti Cal an d 0bserva ti on al wor ks has proVl.d ed th e
Alberta. basis for a new understanding of telluric current

Reprintedfrom CORROSION. Vol. 54, No.9, pp. 751-755(1998)September

Copyright1998 by NACEInternational.P.O. Box218340.Houston,Texas77218-8340
CORROSIONENGINEERINGSECTION . -

I + ~ dx If the disturbance is uniform along the pipe, then E

-!- ~ does not vary with distance (i.e., dE/dx = 0), and
these equations have solutions of the form:

V V + ~ dx I = ~ ( 1 + Ae-y(x-xI)+ Be-Y("2-x)) (6)

I I rlZo

I. dx .1 V=!(Ae-Y(X-XI)-Be-Y("2-x)) (7)
1
FIGURE. 1. Equivalent circuit for a short section of pipeline.
where A and B are constants determined by the con-
ditions at the ends of the pipeline. For a long pipeline
of length L terminated at Ends 1 and 2 by imped-
effects on pipelines and has prompted a new interna- ances to ground 2! and~, respectively, this
tional study to investigate factors influencing the becomes:
amplitude of pipe-to-soil (PIS) potential variations
produced by tellurtc currents.
I=!_le-yx_~e-y(L-x) (8)
THEORY 2 20 20

Induction in a pipeline can be analyzed using the -yx -y(L-x)

theory for a transmission line with a distrtbuted V(x)= -~e + ~e (9)
source, as shown by Taflove and Dabkowski.9 This
method has been applied to tellurtc current studies where:
by Boteler and Cookson.!o Each short section of pipe-
line is represented by a sertes impedance (2) and a E 2 E 2
parallel admittance (Y),and the induced electrtc field ~ = -1 and ~ = -2 (10)
(E) is represented by a voltage source as shown in 1 Zo+ ZI 1 20+ ~
Figure 1. Response of the pipeline depends upon the
propagation constant (oy)and charactertstic imped- These expressions show that P/S potential variations
ance (20)given by: for a long. straight pipeline will be largest at the ends
of the pipeline, fall exponentially with distance from
v1 either end. and cross through zero in the middle of
1=~,Zo= -(1) the pipeline (Figure 2). The theory also predicts that
Y the variations in V at opposite ends of the pipeline
are out of phase. In contrast, I is in phase all along
Voltage (V) and current (I) along the pipeline are the pipeline and reaches its maximum value in the
given by: center of the pipeline.

dV OBSERVATIONS
-=E-IZ (2)
dx Having shown that tellurtc currents can pose a
sertous corrosion threat to coated pipelines in the
dI auroral zone, Seager realized that it was necessary to
~ =-VY (3) develop a means to control the adverse tellurtc ef-
fect.!! To do this, two questions had to be answered:
'. -Did the telluric phase relationship remain
Differentiation and substitution leads to. constant for a length of pipeline cathodically pro-
tected by one rectifier?
d2v dE -Was there a predictable pattern for the telluric
2-'Y2y=~ (4) potential along the length of the pipeline?
dx If the answers to these questions were in the
affirmative, then the adverse tellurtc effects could be
counteracted by properly sized and located, auto-
~ -11 = -YE (5) matically controlled P/S potential rectifiers. which
dx2 are readily available in the corrosion industry.

752 CORROSION-SEPTEMBER 1998


Phase Relationship
During monitoring of the Norman Wells-Zama
pipeline in northwest Canada. the phase relationship
of telluric variations was determined by visually com-
paring plots of PIS potential recordings taken
simultaneously at several locations, Special tests
were undertaken to determine where the predicted
phase reversal would occur. This was done by leap-"j'
frogging two PIS potential recorders by helicopter to
provide partially overlapping graphs of PIS potential
vs time. At two locations on each side of and near to
the pipeline's midpoint. PIS potential variations were
recorded. It was shown clearly that phase reversal
occurred at the midpoint. Through analysis of hun-
dreds of recordings taken over several years. it was
shown that the phase relationship remained constant
over the entire northern half of the pipeline, and
lik ' " th tir th half
eWlse,lor e en e sou ern .'
Thus. the telluric phase relationship remained
constant over a length of pipeline much greater than
that cathodically protected by one rectifier,
Additional tests were conducted at Wrigley
Station (KP 335) where an insulating flange. normally
shorted by a bond wire, was located. When the bond
was opened. the telluric potential increased substan-
tially on both sides, and a phase reversal of the
telluric potentials on opposite sides of the insulating
flange was noted.
Telluric Intensity
During periods of telluric activity (the usual
condition at the Norman Wells pipeline location), it
was not possible to measure a single PIS potential
with any degree of confidence since the meter read-
ing continually varied over a wide range of
potentials. To overcome this problem, recordings of
the potentials were made for several minutes at
each location. The difference between maximum
and minimum in these recordings provided a clear
indication of the magnitude of the telluric effect at
that particular time and location. Because of vari-
ability of the telluric effect with time, combined
with the usual PIS potential survey method of
moving from test station to test station sequentially
along the pipeline, a method was devised to allow
comparison of the readings with elimination of the
time factor. This was made possible by continuous
recording of the geomagnetic field conducted at the
Yellowknife Magnetic Observatory. By knowing the
exact time when each PIS potential reading was
taken and the geomagnetic activity at that time, a
correction factor could be applied to each reading
to create a telluric potential profile over the entire
pipeline, which was equivalent to a Mstoppedtime"
representation. A convenient measure of geomag-
netic activity was the range of variations in each
hour (HRX), The ratio of the HRX value to the
average of the range values for the full year (ARX)
CORROSION-Vol.
54,
No.9
...CORROSION
ENGINEERING SECTION
0 Z=0.10-km Y=0.1 mho/km
-
""
5' '<:
';;;' E
?i 0 ~
-'-
g <3
-Voltage
0 --Current
10 20 40 60 80 100
Distance(km)
FIGURE2. PISpotentialand telluriccurrentin a longpipeline
exposedtoan inducedelectricfieldof 1 Vlkm,
lac t or "lor th e te11unc'
.
proVlded a correc t Ion
'"
magm tu des.
Correctedtelluric magnitude = (11)
ARX
observedtelluric magnitude xH:RX
This procedure was used to obtain the schematic
telluric patterns shown in Figure 3,
Thus. there was a predictable pattern of telluric
intensity along the length of a pipeline.
COMPARISON
BETWEEN THEORY AND OBSERVATION
The pattern of telluric PIS potential variations
observed on the Norman Wells-Zama pipeline
showed the basic features predicted by the DSTL
theory, To allow a more detailed comparison. theo-
retical calculations were made specifically for the
Norman Wells-Zama pipeline. The pipeline was
868 km (542 miles) long and had a series resis-
tance of 0.028 .Q-km. The coating was assumed to
have a conductance per unit area of 10-5S/m2
which. with a pipe circumference of 1 m (39 in.),
giving a parallel conductance for the pipeline of
10-2S/km. This gave values for the characteristic
impedance of = 1.67 .Qand a propagation constant
of 0.0167 Ikm. The exponential fall-off of the
potential at the ends of the pipeline was character-
ized by an adjustment distance 1/'Y, which had the
value 60 km (37 miles). Using these values in
Equations (8) and (9) and assuming there were no
grounds at the ends of the pipeline allowed the
potential profile to be calculated for any specified
electric field (E). Figure 4 shows the potential pro-
file for an electric field of 1 V Ikm parallel to the
pipeline. This figure also shows the calculated
potential profile for the pipeline with an insulating
flange at KP 335. I
753.
 -

CORROSIONENGINEERINGSECTION
\

Norman i ~ t large P /5 potential is observed. Thus. inserting an

Wells I I insulating flange in a long pipeline would only pro-
I r duce other regions where the telluric current is
I I forced to flow on and off the pipe. thus producing
: other places where lar
I J ge P /5 potential variations will
, ,be observed.
.I I Some differences between the theoretical calcula-
I I tions and the observations were revealed by
I comparison of Figures 3 and 4. For example, the
.j calculations were made assuming an electric field
;';~tT~e;: I that was uniform along the pipeline and produced
I potential variations equal and opposite at the ends of
I the pipeline. In contrast, the observations showed
larger P/5 potential variations at the northern end of
the pipeline. indicating the electric field was larger at
that end. This illustrated the need to extend the
theoretical calculations to include variations in E.
Also, the more realistic potential pattern shown in
I Figure 3(c) included potential dips to zero resulting
I from pump station grounds and rectifier drain points
I and illustrated these as features that need to be in-
I cluded in the theoretical calculations.
I

.I ~ DISCUSSION

lama I I
..Agreement
(a) (b) (c)
FIGURE3. TelluricPISpotentialprofile obtainedfromobservations
on the NormanWells-Zamapipeline. Curvesshowprofilefor: (a)the
wholelineconnectedthroughout,(b)theline withan insulatingflange
at KP 335,and (c)a connectedline but includingtheeffectsof station
grounding.
The calculated potential proflle (Figure 4) agreed
very well with the potential profile derived from ob-
servations (Figure 3). Both showed the characteristic
5 shape, with potential variations at one end of the
pipeline having the opposite sign to those at the
other end. The theoretical calculations also correctly
reproduced the observed effect of the insulating
flange. This agreement showed the DSTL theory can
be used to provide the theoretical framework for un-
derstanding telluric potential observations.
The theory shows that an electric field drives a
current along the length of the pipeline (Figure 2).
This produces a movement of electrical charge away
from one end and a buildup of charge at the other
end, resulting in the S-shaped potential profile ob-
served. At one end, the negative potential of the pipe
with respect to the ground causes a current to flow
onto the pipe; whereas at the other end, the positive
potential causes the current to leave the pipe.
A large telluric current also is seen in the middle
of the pipeline where the P/5 potential is small. It is
only where the telluric current is caused to flow to
ground, such as at the end of the pipeline. that a
.
between the observations and the
theoretical calculations has encouraged a new under-
standing of the effects of telluric currents on
pipelines. To further this work, the Geological Survey
of Canada and an international consortium of pipe-
line companies are conducting a major study
involving multi-point observations of telluric currents
in pipelines. A set of 10 data loggers has been ac-
quired and will be used by participating companies
for potential measurements on their pipelines. This
will provide a unique database of observations of
telluric current effects on pipelines. As well as pro-
viding time variations of the potentials for correlation
with recording of magnetic field variations, it will
provide snapshots of the potential proflle along the
pipe that will provide the first quantitative pictures of
the spatial variation of the telluric current potentials.
In parallel with the observation program. the
international study will include work to extend the
theory to deal with more complicated pipeline net-
works. The present DSTL theory is only applicable to
single pipelines with resistive terminations, and there
is a need to extend the theory to include active termi-
nations, which would allow modeling of multiple
pipeline sections. Representing a pipe by 7t-sections
has been found useful in modeling AC induction in
pipelines. and it will be seen if this approach can be
used to model telluric currents. The aim of this work
is to develop methods that will be able to handle
small-scale variations in pipeline characteristics that
would allow modeling of actual pipelines and provide
a versatile modeling scheme for examining the
response of pipelines to telluric currents.

754 CORROSION-SEPTEMBER 1998

 CORROSIONENGINEERINGSECTION

Therefore, it will be possible to predict telluric g

potentials and to design rectifiers of suitable voltage
~-
"C::-
o
and current capacity to counteract any adverse ~ In
effect. The optimum rectifier locations may be prede- "'550
termined not only for t athodic protection purposes ~
.0
but also to ensure that "the proper phase relation- (Q ~
ships are maintained C)ver the rectifier's area of a..g
influence. ':- 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800
The present result5 provide some guidance for Distance (km)
the design of cathodic protection systems. For ex- (a)
ample. it is apparent that a telluric counteracting
rectifier cannot be located at or near the phase rever- 0
0
sallocation. To do so would reduce the telluric effect ~ -

on one side but would increase telluric variations on ~ ~

the other side. Thus, a rectifier, primarily for ~
cathodic protection bu"t also to counteract telluric c: 0
l}.
must be located so that jts significant area of influ- & 0
ence does not extend a.cross a telluric phase reversal ~:
point. * 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800
Distance (km)
CONCLUSIONS (b)

.:. Independently obtai:I1ed theoretical calculations FIGURE4. Resultsof DSTL modelingfor the Norman Wells-Zama
and observations oftbe telluric potential profile on a pipeline: (a)assuminga straight electricallycontinuouspipeline and
long pipeline showed rl?-markable agreement. This (b)for a pipeline with an insulatingflangeat KP 335.
meeting of theory and observation is helping to pro-
duce a new understanding of telluric current effects
on pipelines.
.:. An international study has been implemented to REFERENCES
make multi-point observations of telluric currents, to
extend the theory and to test the theoretical predic- 1. A. Smart. IEEETrans.Ind. Appl. 1A-18(1982):p. 557-567.
tions in a variety of pipeline situations. It is hoped 2. G.I. Russell.L.B. Nelson.Corrosion10 (1954):p. ~OO. "
3. R Shapka. "Geomagnetic Effects on Modem Pipeline Systems.
that this work will lead to the capability to simulate Proc. Solar-Terrestrial Predictions Workshop. Ottawa. Canada.
the telluric currents in pjpeline networks and to pre- May18-2~. 1992(Bo~der.CO: NOAA.1993)..
deslgn. ca
th
0
d .
lC pro
t
ec
-to';
,-,on sys
t
ems
th
a
t al
so can
4. J.F.
sion
Henriksen.
on Buried
R ElVik.
PipelInes."
L. Granasen.
Proc. 8th
-rellunc
Scand.
Current
Corros. Cong..
Corro-

counteract any adverse telluric effect. Helsinki.Finland.NKM8.vol. 2 (Helsinki.Finland:Univ. of

Technology.1978).p. 167-176.
ACKN OWLEDGMENTS 5. B.A.Martin. Corrosion49 (1993):p. 343-350.
6. T.G.Proctor.MP 13 (1974):p. 24-30.
7. D.N.Gideon.MP 10(1971):p. 5-10.
The authors acknowledge the assistance of lnter- 8. R.H.Barker.N.J. Skinner. MP 19 (1980):p. 25-28.
9. A. Taflove.J. Dabkowski. IEEE Trans. PowerApp. Sys. PAS-98
provincial Pipelines, Ltd., in granting permission to (1979): p. 780-794.
publish results for the Norman Wells-Zama pipeline 10. D.H. Boteler. M.J. Cookson. MP 25. 3 (1986): p. 27-32.
..11. W.H. Seager. "AdverseTelluric Effects on Northern Pipelines."
and of the Geological Survey of Canada under contri- Int. ArcticTechnol.Conf..Anchorage.Alaska. May29-31. 1991
bution no. 1,996,435. (Richardson.TX:SPE.1991).

CORROSION-Vol. 541,No.9 Printedin U.S.A. 755

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