Corrosion Control & Cathodic Protection Training
Corrosion is the slowest-moving threat a pipeline or steel structure faces, and exactly because it’s slow, it’s the one most easily under-monitored until a wall thickness reading comes back lower than anyone expected. Cathodic protection is the primary defense against external corrosion on buried and submerged steel, and it only works if it’s designed correctly and checked consistently. Burraq Consulting’s course covers both sides of that equation.
What Is Corrosion Control & Cathodic Protection?
Corrosion control covers the methods used to prevent or slow the electrochemical degradation of steel structures, with cathodic protection (CP) as one of the most widely used techniques for buried pipelines, storage tank bottoms, and submerged structures. CP works by making the protected structure the cathode of an electrochemical cell, using either sacrificial anodes or an impressed current system to suppress corrosion. Getting CP right depends on correct system design, ongoing monitoring, and knowing how to interpret the readings that tell you whether protection is actually being achieved.
Who Should Attend
- Corrosion engineers responsible for CP system design and performance
- Maintenance engineers overseeing corrosion monitoring programs
- Integrity technicians who take and interpret CP survey readings
Prerequisites
A basic materials or mechanical engineering background is recommended.
What the Course Covers
- Corrosion mechanisms relevant to buried and submerged steel, including the electrochemical basis for external corrosion
- Cathodic protection principles, covering sacrificial anode and impressed current systems and when each is appropriate
- CP system design fundamentals, including current requirements, anode selection, and rectifier sizing
- Coating and CP interaction, and why coating condition significantly affects CP system performance and current demand
- Monitoring and survey techniques, including pipe-to-soil potential readings and close-interval surveys
- Interpreting CP data against recognized criteria, and identifying when a system is underperforming
- Common CP system problems — interference, stray current, and anode depletion — and how to diagnose them
Course at a Glance
Why Train with Burraq Consulting
Burraq Consulting’s instructors bring direct cathodic protection survey and system design experience from pipeline and tank farm operations across the region, and this course reflects the interference and soil condition challenges that actually complicate CP performance locally, rather than staying at the level of idealized textbook electrochemistry.
Certification and Next Steps
This course builds practical corrosion control and CP competency. It pairs naturally with Burraq Consulting’s Pipeline Integrity Management Systems and Pigging Operations & Pipeline Inspection courses for a complete pipeline integrity skill set.
Frequently Asked Questions
Sacrificial anode systems use a more reactive metal that corrodes preferentially to protect the structure, requiring no external power but offering limited current output. Impressed current systems use an external power source (a rectifier) to drive protective current, offering more flexibility and output for larger structures but requiring ongoing power and maintenance.
Survey frequency depends on regulatory requirements and system criticality, but many operators run annual close-interval surveys alongside more frequent rectifier and test point checks. The course covers how to set an appropriate monitoring schedule.
Yes, significantly. Poor or disbonded coating dramatically increases the current a CP system must supply to protect exposed steel, which is why coating condition assessment is covered alongside CP system performance in this course.
The course draws on widely recognized cathodic protection principles consistent with NACE/AMPP practice. It is training and awareness-focused rather than a NACE/AMPP certification program itself.
Protect buried and submerged assets before corrosion becomes a failure.
or contact us to arrange an in-house program for your integrity team.