Steel buried or submerged pipelines have serious safety problems due to the occurrence of corrosion, electrical interferences and electromagnetic disorders.
ANALYSIS
The Ten Commandments for the Safe Construction of Steel Pipelines Luiz Paulo Gomes IEC-Instalações e Engenharia de Corrosão Ltda. – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
LPgomes@iecengenharia.com.br
S
teel buried or submerged pipelines for the transportation of gas, oil,
railways and other sources of DC current and by electromagnetic
alcohol, kerosene, chemicals, ore, water and other important products
interferences caused by high-voltage electric transmission lines.
have serious safety problems due to the occurrence of corrosion,
Buried or submerged pipelines are subject to three major problems,
electrical interferences and electromagnetic disorders. Only with the use
which need to be studied, diagnosed and correctly resolved in a timely
of special procedures, which must be applied during design, construction
manner, under penalty of severe impairment of their integrity.
and operation activities, by qualified engineers and technicians, is it
These problems can be divided into three broad categories:
possible to guarantee the operational safety and integrity of these
• Corrosion of the metallic wall of the pipes, caused by aggressive soil
pipelines.
and water (external corrosion) and aggressive transported fluid (internal
With the industrial development of the modern world the use of buried
corrosion)
and submerged steel pipelines has increased significantly. These pipes
• Electrical interferences, caused by electrified railroads (trains and
are constructed with welded steel tubes, often reaching hundreds of
subways) and other sources of direct current
kilometres. To ensure the integrity of these pipes, allowing them to
• Electromagnetic interferences, caused by high voltage electric
operate safely over the years, it is necessary to protect them against
transmission lines.
corrosion by soil and water, electrical interferences caused by electrified
In order to design, construct and operate a safe pipeline, preventing
02
N. 29 - 2019 APRIL - ipcm® Protective Coatings