External Corrosion Assessment
NPS 20 Lakeshore Pipeline
Enbridge Gas Distribution Inc. Page 3 CIPS & DCVG Inspection Report
3.0 INDIRECT INSPECTION MEASUREMENTS
The protection level of the pipe, and subsequently the risk of corrosion activity, was assessed
using a Close Interval Potential Survey (CIPS). GPS synchronized chart recorders were in-
stalled upstream and downstream as each section was surveyed. This allowed the survey data
to be partially compensated for dynamic stray currents due to TTC’s DC transit system. To
further reduce this impact, night surveys were conducted from November 10th to 12th, 2010
on the Lever, Parliament and Ontario Place sections of the pipeline.
On the Ontario Place, Parliament, and Lever sections, nearby Hydro One rectifiers may also
influence pipeline potentials and/or cause DC interference. On the night of November 11,
2010 these rectifiers were turned off and a CIPS was conducted on each of these sections to
characterize the impact on protection levels.
The DC Voltage Gradient (DCVG) method was selected as a complementary primary tool to
detect and locate coating holidays.
The CIPS and DCVG were integrated into one survey for a perfect alignment of the two sets
of data where possible. In some locations the ON/OFF potential shifts were too low to allow
an integrated survey.
The indirect inspections were conducted using the following techniques:
a) Influence Testing – to confirm that the line is “clean” during the CIPS, meaning that all
influencing rectifiers were interrupted simultaneously and that any dynamic stray current
activity (i.e. telluric currents) would be compensated in the final results.
b) Aligned/Integrated CIPS/DCVG Survey – to assess the protection level of the lines and to
detect, locate, and classify coating holidays.
3.1 Influence Testing
The influencing Enbridge rectifiers listed in Table 1 were interrupted during the surveys.
In order to confirm that all influencing rectifiers were indeed synchronously interrupted
and that the line was “clean”, the pipe-to-soil potential during the OFF cycle was re-
corded and analyzed for any trace of rectifier activity. The test is based on the fact that
a single-phase rectifier does not generate a perfect DC current (i.e. like a battery), but
it introduces a significant 120 Hz ripple.
If the pipe-to-soil potential is recorded or displayed on an oscilloscope, then the mag-
nitude of various frequencies, including 120 Hz, can be determined.