Indian Journal of Science and Technology

Abstract

Objective: The objective of this study is to calculate and analyze the economic parameters of three main DC power sources i.e. Thermoelectric Generator, Transformer Rectifier, and solar photovoltaic (PV) Solar System, which are widely used in impressed current cathodic protection (ICCP) of underground pipelines. Methodology/Analysis : Initial or capital cost, operation and maintenance costs of the afore-mentioned DC sources are computed, for a practical ICCP system of high transmission underground pipeline over a period. Present worth analysis technique of economic analysis with inflation adjustment using a spreadsheet is adopted to compute these values. The analysis period of 20 years is used for present worth calculations of these DC sources. Findings: The cost efficiency of DC power sources for an ICCP system have been discussed in very few research papers. The calculations are made for either only one DC source at a time or the comparison is based on calculation without inflation adjustment. This study, in line with the currently adopted methodologies, provides a far easier and more comprehensive comparison and analysis of the most economical DC source for the ICCP system of underground metallic pipelines. Novelty/ Improvement: DC power sources play a pivotal role in an ICCP system that helps to mitigate the rate of corrosion in underground pipelines. This study contributes towards choosing the costeffective DC Power source for an ICCP system of underground pipelines. The results are drawn using practical data. This subsequently helps in mitigating the rate of corrosion in these pipelines.

Keywords: Economic analysis; corrosion; DC power source; impressed current cathodic protection; underground pipelines