(Press-News.org) Northern Canada's permafrost and semi-permafrost environment is a huge challenge for designing and engineering underground pipelines, and a critical aspect of protecting both the pipeline and this sensitive environment involves the design of an effective corrosion protection system.
One of the most common methods to protect buried infrastructure—such as oil and gas transmission pipelines —from corrosion is the application of an external coating.
"Although great advances have been made within the past 30 years in terms of coatings reliability and longevity, it's still desirable to implement a back-up plan: cathodic protection," says Paul Duchesne, manager of media relations for Natural Resources Canada.
What is cathodic protection? It's a method used to protect buried pipelines from corrosion, which involves attaching sacrificial anodes to a pipeline's coated steel. Sacrificial anodes are more electrically active than steel, so corrosive currents exit through the anodes rather than the steel.
Since the implications of partially frozen ground on a pipeline's cathodic protection system weren't entirely clear, Natural Resources Canada researchers decided to explore and evaluate the use of cathodic protection in permafrost regions.
In a paper published in CORROSION journal, the researchers explain how cathodic protection systems function at low temperature and describe the various aspects of cathodic protection application in sub-zero temperatures.
The researchers concluded that the application of cathodic protection systems may provide long-term protection of the infrastructure from corrosion when combined with high-performance coatings—as long as the system is designed and operated to overcome high electrical resistance frozen phases.
"Ultimately, we hope that our research will contribute to the safe and reliable operation of underground infrastructure such as oil and gas transmission pipelines, production facilities, and storage tanks," says Duchesne.
###
More Information:
The paper, "Applicability of Cathodic Protection for Underground Infrastructures Operating at Sub-Zero Temperatures," by Sankara Papavinasam, Tharani Pannerselvam, and Alex Doiron, appears in NACE International's journal, CORROSION, Sep. 2013, Vol. 69, No. 9, pp. 936-945. See: http://dx.doi.org/10.5006/0881
About NACE International: Founded in 1943, NACE International, The Corrosion Society, serves 30,000 members in 130 countries. Based in Houston, Texas, with offices in the U.S., China, Malaysia, and Saudi Arabia, the organization reaches all industries impacted by corrosion and offers the most specified technical training and certification programs, conferences, industry standards, reports, publications, and software to prevent and mitigate corrosion. NACE International provides members with career and business building resources, government relations and public awareness support, and research and education to support the pursuit of global corrosion control solutions.
CORROSION is a technical research journal devoted to furthering the knowledge of corrosion science and engineering. The technical articles selected for publication in CORROSION provide a permanent record of the latest progress in the science and technology of corrosion control. The journal is directed at scientists and engineers concerned with the phenomena of corrosion processes and the protection of materials in corrosive environments. For more information, please visit http://corrosionjournal.org.
Protecting underground pipelines from corrosion in sub-zero environments
2013-10-01
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
NREL releases new roadmap to reducing solar PV 'soft costs' by 2020
2013-10-01
The Energy Department's (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) recently issued a new report, "Non-Hardware ('Soft') Cost-Reduction Roadmap for Residential and Small Commercial Solar Photovoltaics, 2013,"PDF funded by DOE's SunShot Initiative and written by NREL and Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI). The report builds off NREL's ongoing soft-cost benchmarking analysis and charts a path to achieve SunShot soft-cost targets of $0.65/W for residential systems and $0.44/W for commercial systems by 2020.
Non-hardware costs — also referred to as soft, balance of system, ...
Understanding soil nitrogen management using synchrotron technology
2013-10-01
As food security becomes an increasingly important global issue, scientists are looking for the best way to maintain the organic matter in soils using different methods of fertilization and crop rotation.
Increasing the organic matter in soils is key to growing crops for numerous reasons, including increased water-holding capacity and improved tilth. Scientists have recently used the Canadian Light Source (CLS) to evaluate the effects of various sources of supplemental nitrogen fertilizer on the chemical composition of soil organic matter. Results of their experiments ...
Tests in mice identify compound that may keep survivors of brain aneurysms from succumbing to stroke
2013-10-01
Johns Hopkins researchers, working with mice, say they have identified a chemical compound that reduces the risk of dangerous, potentially stroke-causing blood vessel spasms that often occur after the rupture of a bulging vessel in the brain.
They say their findings offer clues about the biological mechanisms that cause vasospasm, or constriction of blood vessels that reduces oxygen flow to the brain, as well as potential means of treating the serious condition in humans.
When an aneurysm — essentially a blister-like bulge in the wall of a blood vessel — bursts, blood ...
Scripps Florida scientists develop new process to create artificial cell membranes
2013-10-01
JUPITER, FL – October 1, 2013 – The membranes surrounding and inside cells are involved in every aspect of biological function. They separate the cell's various metabolic functions, compartmentalize the genetic material, and drive evolution by separating a cell's biochemical activities. They are also the largest and most complex structures that cells synthesize.
Understanding the myriad biochemical roles of membranes requires the ability to prepare synthetic versions of these complex multi-layered structures, which has been a long-standing challenge.
In a study published ...
What makes us left or right handed? New study rules out strong genetic factors
2013-10-01
Around 10 per cent of the UK is left handed — and that percentage remains consistent in many populations around the world. But why exactly someone is left or right handed remains unclear.
New research from The University of Nottingham's Professor John Armour and Dr Angus Davison, in collaboration with UCL's Professor Chris McManus, has ruled out a 'strong genetic determinant' in influencing handedness.
The researchers conducted a twin study examining the whole genome — which contains hereditary information — of nearly 4,000 subjects from the London Twin Research Unit ...
Bad luck? Knocking on wood can undo jinx: study
2013-10-01
Knocking on wood is the most common superstition in Western culture used to reverse bad fortune or undo a "jinx." Other cultures maintain similar practices, like spitting or throwing salt, after someone has tempted fate. Even people who aren't particularly superstitious often participate in these practices.
A new study from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business finds that these superstitions actually do "reverse" perceived bad fortune.
People believe that negative outcomes are especially likely after a jinx. If someone says, "No one I know will ever get ...
Regular primary care visits lower colorectal cancer incidence, death, and all-cause mortality
2013-10-01
1. Regular primary care visits lower colorectal cancer incidence, death, and all-cause mortality
Medicare beneficiaries with more visits to their primary care physician (PCP) have lower colorectal cancer (CRC) incidence, CRC-specific mortality, and all-cause mortality. CRC is preventable with appropriate screening and polypectomy, yet many of the people who could benefit from it either are not screened, or do not start screening early enough. Recommendations from physicians are the strongest predictors of adherence to CRC screening guidelines. Researchers hypothesized ...
Medicare plans understate risky prescribing rates
2013-10-01
PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — A new study reveals widespread inaccuracy in a quality measure that is self-reported by Medicare Advantage health plans. Researchers found that the vast majority in a sample of 172 such insurers significantly understated their rate of high-risk medication prescriptions.
The average rate of prescribing at least one of about 100 medicines deemed risky for the elderly was 26.9 percent of patients over 65, according to the researchers' calculations, compared to the 21.1 percent of patients reported by the plans. The average plan, therefore, ...
New study shows blood test detected cancer metastasis
2013-10-01
San Jose, CA and Göttingen, Germany -- Researchers from the University Göttingen Institute of Veterinary Medicine and Chronix Biomedical have published a new study exploring the genetic hallmarks of canine mammary cancer. Appearing in the peer-reviewed journal PLOS ONE, the paper identifies important similarities and differences between human and canine breast tumors, providing a strong platform for future research using the canine model system. (Note to Editors: The paper is accessible here.)
As part of the project, the research team successfully implemented Chronix ...
Leisure-time exercise could lower your risk of high blood pressure
2013-10-01
Physical activity in your leisure time could help keep your blood pressure at a healthy level, new research in the American Heart Association journal Hypertension suggests.
Researchers pooled results from 13 studies on the effects of physical activity on blood pressure. The studies involved 136,846 people in the United States, Europe or East Asia who initially had healthy blood pressure. More than 15,600 later developed high blood pressure during follow-up periods ranging from two to 45 years.
People who exercised more than four hours per week in their leisure time had ...