Economic analysis of DC power sources used in impressed current cathodic protection of underground pipelines

Objective: The objective of this study is to calculate and analyze the economicparameters of three main DC power sources i.e. Thermoelectric Generator,Transformer Rectifier, and solar photovoltaic (PV) Solar System, which arewidely used in impressed current cathodic protection (ICCP) of undergroundpipelines. Methodology/Analysis : Initial or capital cost, operation andmaintenance costs of the afore-mentioned DC sources are computed, fora practical ICCP system of high transmission underground pipeline over aperiod. Present worth analysis technique of economic analysis with inflationadjustment using a spreadsheet is adopted to compute these values. Theanalysis period of 20 years is used for present worth calculations of these DCsources. Findings: The cost efficiency of DC power sources for an ICCP systemhave been discussed in very few research papers. The calculations are made foreither only one DC source at a time or the comparison is based on calculationwithout inflation adjustment. This study, in line with the currently adoptedmethodologies, provides a far easier and more comprehensive comparisonand analysis of the most economical DC source for the ICCP system ofunderground metallic pipelines. Novelty/ Improvement: DC power sourcesplay a pivotal role in an ICCP system that helps to mitigate the rate of corrosionin underground pipelines. This study contributes towards choosing the cost-effective DC Power source for an ICCP system of underground pipelines. Theresults are drawn using practical data. This subsequently helps in mitigatingthe rate of corrosion in these pipelines.