Cathodic protection system and method
Patent Information
- Application Number
- JP2022185357
- Authority / Receiving Office
- JP · JP
- Patent Type
- Applications
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Priority Date
- 2021-12-16
- Filing Date
- 2022-11-21
- Publication Date
- 2025-12-02
- Estimated Expiration
- 2042-11-21
Smart Images
Figure 00000000_0000_ABST
Abstract
Claims
1. a cathodic protection system including an anode and configured to protect a structure to be protected from corrosion; a monitoring circuit operably coupled to the cathodic protection system, the monitoring circuit including an electro-optical transducer; the electro-optical transducer configured to generate an optical signal in response to a current flowing between the structure to be protected and the anode of the cathodic protection system, or in response to a current flowing between the structure to be protected and a reference electrode, or in response to a current flowing between the reference electrode and the anode; Equipped with The monitoring circuit further includes a coupling circuit including a voltage converter, the voltage converter comprising: boosting a voltage generated in response to the current; The electro-optical transducer is driven by the boosted voltage. The system is configured as follows:
2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the anode is a sacrificial anode configured to provide electrons for the current.
3. 10. The system of claim 1, wherein the anode is an inert anode and the cathodic protection system comprises a power source that provides electrons for the current.
4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the electro-optical transducer is in series between the anode and the structure to be protected.
5. The system of claim 1 , further comprising a power subsystem configured to provide power to the system.
6. the power subsystem: A solar cell circuit; A thermoelectric circuit, a piezoelectric circuit; a hysteresis circuit configured to harvest energy from galvanic corrosion; 6. The system of claim 5, comprising an energy harvesting device comprising one or more of:
7. 7. The system of claim 6, wherein the power subsystem includes an energy storage device coupled to receive and store energy from the energy harvesting device, the energy storage device comprising one or both of a battery and a capacitor.
8. The system of claim 5 , wherein the power subsystem comprises a fiber optic power feed configured to convert optical energy transmitted by an optical fiber into electrical energy.
9. The system of claim 1 , wherein the electro-optical transducer comprises at least one of a light emitting diode, a laser diode, and a superluminescent device.
10. 10. The system of claim 1, wherein the electro-optical transducer includes or is coupled to an encoder, the encoder configured to encode the optical signal according to a predetermined encoding scheme.
11. The system of claim 10 , wherein the encoding scheme comprises one of amplitude modulation encoding, frequency modulation encoding, pulse width modulation encoding, and digital encoding.
12. 10. The system of claim 1, further comprising data acquisition circuitry optically coupled to the electro-optical transducer via a fiber optic link, the data acquisition circuitry including an analyzer configured to use the optical signal to determine the presence and extent of corrosion on the corrosion protected structure.
13. The system of claim 1 , wherein the electro-optical transducer is configured to generate the optical signal in response to a trigger stimulus.
14. 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the electro-optical transducer is configured to generate the optical signal in response to a trigger stimulus received from a remote source via an optical fiber link between the remote source and the electro-optical transducer.
15. protecting a protected structure from corrosion using a cathodic protection system including an anode; monitoring the structure to be protected for corrosion using a monitoring circuit including an electro-optical transducer; generating, by the electro-optical transducer, an optical signal in response to a current flowing between the structure to be protected and the anode, in response to a current flowing between the structure to be protected and a reference electrode, or in response to a current flowing between the reference electrode and the anode; using a voltage converter to boost a voltage generated in response to the current; Driving the electro-optical transducer with the boosted voltage; communicating the optical signal over a fiber optic link to a remote data acquisition system; A method comprising:
16. The method of claim 15 wherein the anode is a sacrificial anode.
17. The method of claim 15 wherein the anode is an inert anode.
18. 16. The method of claim 15, comprising using an energy harvesting device to generate power for the monitoring circuitry.
19. 16. The method of claim 15, comprising generating power for the monitoring circuitry using a fiber optic power feed.
20. 16. The method of claim 15, comprising encoding the optical signal according to a predetermined encoding scheme to generate an encoded optical signal.
21. 21. The method of claim 20, including using the coded optical signal to determine, by the remote data acquisition system, the presence and extent of corrosion on the protected structure.
22. The method of claim 15 , wherein the optical signal is generated in response to a trigger stimulus.
23. 16. The method of claim 15, wherein the electro-optical transducer generates the optical signal in response to a trigger stimulus received from a remote source via the fiber optic link between the remote source and the electro-optical transducer.
24. A cathodic protection system comprising an anode and configured to protect a structure to be protected from corrosion; a monitoring circuit operably coupled to the cathodic protection system, the monitoring circuit including an electro-optical transducer; the electro-optical transducer configured to generate an optical signal in response to a current flowing between the structure to be protected and the anode of the cathodic protection system, or in response to a current flowing between the structure to be protected and a reference electrode, or in response to a current flowing between the reference electrode and the anode; Equipped with The system wherein the electro-optical transducer includes or is coupled to an encoder, the encoder being configured to encode the optical signal according to a predetermined encoding scheme.
25. The system of claim 24, wherein the encoding method includes one of amplitude modulation encoding, frequency modulation encoding, pulse width modulation encoding, and digital encoding.