Corrosion of small-diameter pipelines

Paper Title: ALUMINIUM COATINGS OF SMALL-DIAMETER PIPELINES Author(1): MARCELO GOMES MEDEIROS DE MACEDO Author(2):CLODOMIRO ALVES JUNIOR Author(3): ANTONIO EDURADO MARTINELLI Company: Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte - Brazil Adrdress: Rua Pres. Leo Veloso, 766 - Alecrim cep: 59032-500 Natal-RN

The transport and distribution of natural gas from its production site to end consumers relies on thousand of kilometers of pipelines. As the gas flow through these lines, localized corrosion occurs due to the variations of the electric potential at certain spots of the pipes which lead to the development of anodic and cathodic areas and, consequently, corrosion cells. Electrolytic corrosion can be prevented by electric isolation, cathodic protection, or coating. Coating involves the formation or deposition of a continuous film onto a surface which requires isolation. In the case of pipelines, aluminum coatings are efficient barriers to prevent localized corrosion during gas transport. Continuous aluminum films can be deposited granting enough corrosion resistance to the base metal so it can withstand gas transport. Nevertheless, aluminum coating cannot be accomplished for small-diameter pipelines using conventional spraying techniques. The objective of the present investigation is to plasma coat the inner surface of small-diameter pipes with aluminum. A plasma atmosphere is generated creating a potential difference between two electrodes, i.e., a aluminum rod positioned in the pipe and the pipe itself. The pipe

must be sealed and vacuumed down an Argon pressure of 1 0.1 torr. As a potential difference is applied, electrons are accelerated towards the anode colliding with Argon atoms and ionizing them. Those ions impinge onto the surface of the cathode (aluminum rod) sputtering aluminum atoms which are then deposited onto the surface of the pipe.