Numerical Simulation on Cathodic Protection Potential Distribution Along Horizontal Directional Drilling Pipe

Evaluating the cathodic protection (CP) effectiveness of horizontal directional drilling (HDD) pipe is a significant technical challenge, due to the feasibility of testing only in shallow buried areas at entry/exit extremities, and not in deeply buried areas or the crossing section of the pipe. Numerical simulation provides a method to evaluate the CP effectiveness of HDD pipes. To improve the accuracy of potential distribution along the HDD pipe, it is necessary to adopt appropriate boundary conditions of the HDD pipe and accurate holiday models of coating. A specialized deep well polarization test device was designed and employed in the field to obtain the actual polarization characteristics as the boundary condition of the HDD pipe at buried depths ranging from 2 to 25 m. The result revealed that the polarization characteristics of HDD pipe in various depths were different and the potential distribution of the actual situation was greatly different from the potential distribution of the shallow aerobic soil. The potential distribution along the HDD pipe was analyzed in two types of holiday models. The results could be used as a reference for the CP effectiveness evaluation of HDD pipes.