Research Result Summaries

EPRI Approach to Corrosion Monitoring
Corrosion on utility assets often represents risk to the utility, personnel and the general public due to loss of structure, conductor or hardware strength. The effects of corrosion vary with the location and design of the circuit while the severity varies with the environment.

Innovative Cathodic Protection Application for Transmission Tower Concrete Foundations
Heavy wire tension loads from transmission towers are often transferred to the soil through concrete foundations. The foundations may be exposed to harsh environments resulting in corrosion of the reinforcing steel, internal stresses in the concrete and ultimately concrete degradation.

Corrosion Monitoring System (CMS) The Corrosion Monitoring System (CMS) has migrated from a research tool into a standalone data collection system to help us understand corrosion anomalies and monitor “at risk” structures. The CMS has its own power supply, data collection, cellular connection and a host of atmospheric and subgrade sensors to identify changes in both the environment and the degradation rate of the asset. That data may be used to model conductor degradation, ground grid degradation or any asset in atmospheric or soil exposure. Perhaps the greatest benefit of deploying the CMS is understanding severe types of corrosion such as stray current or circulating current corrosion.