Optimization of Cathodic Protection System Design for Pipe-Lines Structure with Ribbon Sacrificial Anode Using BEM and GA

In this paper, combination of a boundary element formulation and genetic algorithm (GA) was developed and used for analyzing of cathodic protection systems of buried pipe-lines structures. It is very important to maintain the effectiveness of the cathodic protection system for pipeline structure, in order to lengthen the lifetime of the system. However, nowadays the evaluation of the effectiveness of the system only could be performed after the system applying in the field. This study was conducted to combine 2D boundary element method (BEM) and GA in order to evaluate the effectiveness of the cathodic protection system for pipe-lines structure using ribbon sacrificial anode. Two factors i.e. the soil conductivity and the distance between pipe-lines and anode, were analyzed by using the proposed method. In this method, the potential in the domain was modeled by Laplace's equation. The anode and cathode areas were represented by polarization curves of different metals. Boundary element method was applied to solve the Laplace's equation to obtain any potential and current density in the whole surface of the pipe. The pipe and anode were modeled into 2D model. The numerical analysis result shows that the optimum distance between pipe-lines and anode can be determined by combining BEM and GA.