A Real-Time AC/DC Measurement Technique for Assessment of AC Corrosion of Buried Pipelines

In this work, a real-time AC/DC signal data acquisition (DAQ) technique was developed, which is capable of separating the DC and AC potential components from the recorded total potential, providing mechanistic information about the steel corrosion in the presence of AC interference. It was found that the corrosion of the steel is enhanced by the applied AC current density from 0 to 400 A/m². With the further increase to 600 A/m² and 800 A/m², the corrosion rate of the steel decreases, which is attributed to passivation of the steel at sufficiently high AC current densities, and a compact film is formed on the steel surface. Moreover, the derived mathematic relationships between AC potential and AC current density provides a potential alternative to determine AC current density on pipelines based on measurements of AC potential in the field.