Thursday, December 6, 2007 - 4:00 PM

Comparison of Wireless Technologies for Remote Monitoring of Cathodic Protection Systems

Dr. Larry D. Stephenson and Dr. Ashok Kumar, US Army ERDC - CERL

 

Impressed current cathodic protection (CP) systems for water storage tanks must be periodically tested in order to ensure proper performance.  Wireless remote monitoring technologies provide the ability to monitor CP system performance data from remote locations using modem-equipped personal computers.  Data can be provided to a central location through an existing supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems or through other wireless monitoring systems that can be installed economically.  The technology provides capabilities to remotely monitor the cathodic protection system’s current and “instant-on” and “instant off potentials,” allowing allowed continuous monitoring of CP systems from a central location, and provide personnel with immediate warning of potential corrosion hazards.   Case studies are presented for three Army Installations and one Air Force Installation, each with different approaches to remote monitoring of cathodic protection systems for potable water storage tanks and buried pipelines.  The benefits of implementation of remote monitoring are the cost avoidance of traveling to remote sites to check each rectifier, and the added capability of instant notification of a malfunction in the cathodic protection system, thus increasing the life of the structures being protected.