Cathodic protection systems

General
• well-established anti-corrosion method for protecting steel exposed
to aggressive liquids (e.g. sea water) and soils.
• The European Standard EN 12 696 Cathodic Protection of Steel in
Con-crete, Part 1, Atmospherically Exposed Concretespecifies
performance requirements both for existing and new structures
Components
• A DC source.
• An anode system.
• A conductive electrolyte: concrete
• A cathodic system: the steel reinforcement
• Electrical connecting cables
• Control and monitoring devices
Anodes
• resist the mechanical, physical and chemical influ-ences of the environment.
• lifetime must be longer than that of the covering layer minimum of at least 20
years.
• The anode surface must be large enough to ensure that the current density
• It must be economically feasible.
• Conductive overlays: a layer acting as an anode covering the entire con-crete
surface.
• Distributed anodes: discrete anodes that are spread evenly over the con-crete
surface.
• Sacrificial metal layer: a covering metal layer that acts as a sacrificial
• anode.
Types of anode system
• Conductive overlays: a layer acting as an anode covering the entire
concrete surface.
• Distributed anodes: discrete anodes that are spread evenly over the
concrete surface. Only part of the concrete surface is covered with
active anode material.
• Sacrificial metal layer: a covering metal layer that acts as a sacrificial
anode.
Anode Conductive overlays
Anodes that cover the entire surface of the concrete usually consist of a
combination of primary and secondary anodes. The primary anode consists of an
inert metal. The secondary anode is an overlay consisting of a mortar, asphalt, or
paint made conductive by adding carbon particles or consistingof a conductive
polymer. For example Silicon iron anodes, Meshed AD-wire of titanium, Conductive
paint (coating) systems
Sacrificial anodes
• An example of a sacrificial anode is the flame-sprayed zinc anode. A
zinc coat of about 200mm is sprayed onto the concrete and
connected electri-cally to the reinforcement.
Anode durability
• For the sake of durability, all parts of a cathodic protection system
must perform well throughout the design life.
• When reactions occur Ifgraphite is used for anode cables, conductive
mortars etc., the following reactions can occur:

This means that the anode will slowly lose its thickness.
• he anodic current density should, therefore, be restricted and the
maximum anodic value rec-ommended by NACE is 0.1 A/m2 current
density.
Repair procedure with
cathodic protection
Repair procedure with CP in the case of
chloride-initiated corrosion.
Protection criteria
Various cathodic protection criteria for steel-reinforced concrete are advo-
cated. The following criteria are given in EN 12696-1:
• An instant off potential (measured between 0.1 s and 1 s after switching
on the d.c. circuit) that is more negative than –720 mV with respect to
AgIAgCl/0.5 M KCl.
• A potential decay over a maximum 24 hour period of at least 100 mV from
instant off.
• A potential decay over an extended period (typically 24 hours or longer) of
at least 150 mV from the instant off subject to a continuing decay and the
use of reference electrodes for measurements extended beyond a 24 hour
period.