Prediction of corrosiveness of sea bed sediments

To help corrosion engineers design effective cathodic protection for buried offshore pipelines, the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology, U.K., has proposed a system for quantifying sea bed characteristics as to their influence on pipeline corrosion. A table of point factors for each characteristic permits the engineer to establish the probable corrosivity of the sea bed characteristics as to their influence on pipeline corrosion. A table of point factors for each characteristic permits the engineer to establish the probable corrosivity of the sea bed sediments along the pipeline route. A general policy of variable anode spacing reduces the risk of corrosion; in areas of microbial hazard, however, smaller and more frequent anodes afford a greater reduction in potential and decrease the chance of anode self-corrosion.