A solution technique for cathodic protection with dynamic boundary conditions by the boundary element method

1999 ◽  
Vol 30 (9-11) ◽  
pp. 663-671 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.A.F. Santiago ◽  
J.C.F. Telles
Author(s):  
W. J. Santos ◽  
S. L. D. C. Brasil ◽  
J. A. F. Santiago ◽  
J. C. F. Telles

The purpose of this work is to efficiently evaluate the design of cathodic protection (CP) systems of tank bottoms using concentric ring or linear anodes. As customary in current CP systems, the outer surface of the tank bottom is usually in electrical contact with a slender homogeneous layer of conductive concrete (or something similar) which in turn is in direct contact with the homogeneous deep soil region. The boundary element method (BEM) together with a subregion technique has been widely adopted to analyse such CP systems where the domain consists of two (or even more) homogeneous zones. However, the numerical solution of the final matrix system of equations can be quite time-consuming, especially if the slender intermediate layer is to be discretised, requiring a considerable number of elements, due to its somewhat reduced thickness. To overcome this problem, the present work proposes a new methodology in which the slender subregion is indirectly introduced, as a theoretically created polarisation curve, acting as a new boundary condition at the boundary of the soil domain (original common interface). Numerical simulations have been carried out using BEM implementations and results are discussed, including CP studies of practical axisymmetric and three-dimensional engineering problems.


Author(s):  
D.Y. Ivanov ◽  

Here we consider the initial-boundary value problems in a homogeneous cylindrical domain YI Ω ×+ ( Ω+ is an open two-dimensional bounded simply connected domain with a boundary 5 ∂Ω ∈C , 2 \ Ω≡ Ω − + R is the open exterior of the domain Ω+ , [0, ] YI ≡ Y is the height of the cylinder) on a time interval [0, ] TI ≡ T . The initial conditions and the boundary conditions on the bases of the cylinder are zero, and the boundary conditions on the lateral surface of the cylinder are given by the function 1 2 wx x yt ( , , ,) ( 1 2 (, ) x x ∈∂Ω , Y y ∈ I , T t I ∈ ). An approximate solution of such problems is obtained through the combined use of the Fourier method and the collocation boundary element method based on piecewise quadratic interpolation (PQI). The solution to the problem in the cylinder is expanded in a Fourier series in terms of eigenfunctions of the operator 2 By yy ≡ ∂ with the corresponding zero boundary conditions. The coefficients of such a Fourier series are solutions of problems for two-dimensional heat equations 2 2 t ∇ =∂ + u u ku . With a low smoothness of the functions w in the variable y, the weight of solutions at large values of k increases and the accuracy of solving the problem in the cylinder decreases. To maintain accuracy on a uniform grid, the step of discretization of the boundary function w with respect to the variable y is decreased by a factor of j. Here j is an averaged value of the quantity Y k π depending on the function w. In addition, the steps of discretization of functions ( ) 2 exp − τ k with respect to the variable τ in domains τ≤πT k are reduced by a factor of 2 2 k π . The steps in the remaining ranges of values τ and the steps by the other variables remain unchanged. The approximate solutions obtained on the basis of this procedure converge stably to exact solutions in the 2 ( ) LI I Y T × -norm with a cubic velocity uniformly with respect to sets of functions w, bounded by norm of functions with low smoothness in the variable y, uniformly along the length of the generatrix of the cylinder Y , and uniformly in the domain Ω . The latter is also associated with the use of PQI along the curve ∂Ω over the variable 2 2 ρ≡ − r d , which is carried out at small values of r ( d and r are the distances from the observed point of the domain Ω to the boundary ∂Ω and to the current point of integration along ∂Ω , respectively). The theoretical conclusions are confirmed by the results of the numerical solution of the problem in a circular cylinder, where the dependence of the boundary functions w on y is given by the normalized eigenfunctions of the differential operator By which vary in a sufficiently large range of values of k .


2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Markus Träuble ◽  
Carolina Nunes Kirchner ◽  
Gunther Wittstock ◽  
Theodore E. Simos ◽  
George Maroulis

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