Smart cathodic protection systems

Cathodic protection delivers corrosion protection in concrete structures exposed to aggressive environments, e.g. in de-icing salt and marine climates. Working lives of a large number of CP systems are at least more than 13 years and probably more than 25 years, provided a minimum level of maintenance is applied. This involves routine checks of power units and testing depolarisation of reinforcement, usually under a maintenance contract and for a low annual fee. Regular design of CP is conservative, but lightweight anode materials and numerical modelling in the design phase may provide more cost effective systems, which can be termed "smart CP systems". For a CP trial lightweight anodes and numerical modelling were beneficial in terms of cost. Applying CP to the trial site, it was demonstrated that up to 10% lower life cycle costs over a period of 25 years were possible compared to conventional repair. © 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London.