Pipeline Coating Conductance Measurements through CP Rectifier Influence: Validation and Improvements

Abstract A previous paper presented the Rectifier Influence Coating Conductance Survey (RICCS), a method of evaluating a pipeline’s attenuation factor (‘alpha’) by interrupting a rectifier and measuring its IR influence along the length of a pipeline. This attenuation factor can then be used to calculate the pipeline’s specific coating conductance, which is normally assumed but is a critical input to cathodic protection and AC interference design and pipeline modelling tasks. This paper presents findings from a second survey on overlapping and new sections of the same pipeline as was previously studied. Key topics include a year-over-year comparison of the measured attenuation factors, a sensitivity analysis in the calculation of specific coating conductance, and the impact of certain edge cases and how to mitigate them during the field survey or analysis, with an overall objective of enhancing the robustness of the alpha determination and demonstrating its reliability and limitations. The authors measured multiple rectifiers’ IR influence during a single survey through sequential rectifier interruption and potential data recording to enhance measurement accuracy and demonstrate scalability of the RICCS technique.