Cathodic Protection Design of a Pipe Laying Vessel Based on Numerical Simulation

Corrosion protection status of the pipe laying vessel underwater structure is under a dynamic process in the lifecycle. Thus, it is necessary to design the corrosion protection program according to the practical situation. In this paper, numerical simulation method was used to predict the corrosion protection status and the accuracy of the method was evaluated by the scale model test. Then two cathodic protection plans were considered, which were “impressed current cathodic protection” and “sacrificial anode and impressed current joint cathodic protection”. The corrosion protection status was predicted by the numerical simulation for these two protection plans. After comparison it was found that the application of “sacrificial anode and impressed current joint cathodic protection” enhanced the uniformity of potential distribution. The area of the anode shield and the power of two DC electrical sources were reduced by a large margin. All the submerged structures were in good protection.