An Online-Enabled Remote Monitoring Device for Assessing Polarization and Depolarization Potential Behavior of Cathodic Protection Systems in Underground Pipelines

Metallic structures, such as pipelines and storage tanks, are among the most critical infrastructures worldwide for transporting liquids or gases. Conventional on-site inspections and monitoring methods are not effective in detecting sudden or occasional failures due to corrosion in these metallic structures. Therefore, a continuous monitoring system is necessary to provide early warnings for immediate mitigation and to monitor the cathodic protection (CP) operating conditions and its surrounding environments. A test post remote monitoring system, equipped with voltage, humidity, and battery capacity sensors is developed and integrated with an industrial internet of things (IIoT) platform. Node-RED was utilized to develop an interface for monitoring parameters collected from the system via a communication protocol. The findings indicate that the remote monitoring system can measure potential readings with a low error of within 1% comparable to a conventional multimeter. Furthermore, the system enables monitoring the polarization and depolarization potential behavior during cathodic protection operation conditions on a pipeline.