What is BS EN 14505 – Cathodic protection about?
BS EN 14505 is a European standard that discusses the cathodic protection of complex structures. Its main use is to protect steel structures buried in soil or immersed in water. It cannot be used to prevent atmospheric corrosion on metals.
BS EN 14505 applies to the cathodic protection of complex structures. It applies to structures, which are to be cathodically protected but cannot be electrically isolated, whether for technical or safety reasons, from foreign metallic structures situated in the same electrolyte as the structure to be protected. Such a structure is referred to as a “complex structure”.
It is assumed in BS EN 14505 that the design, installation, commissioning, inspection and maintenance are entrusted to adequately trained, experienced, competent and reliable personnel to achieve effective and efficient cathodic protection.
Note: BS EN 14505 is not applicable to structures that can be protected by EN 12954. When contacts with foreign structures or defective isolation from foreign structures exist but can be corrected, EN 12954 is applicable instead of this document. As an example, pipeline network distribution systems are not considered to be complex structures.
Who is BS EN 14505 – Cathodic protection for?
BS EN 14505 on cathodic protection applies to:
- Manufacturer of cathodic protected products
- Constructing engineers
- Quality testing personnel
Why should you use BS EN 14505 – Cathodic protection?
Cathodic protection is commonly applied to a coated structure to provide corrosion control to areas where the coating may be damaged. A complex structure is a structure composed of the structure to be protected and of one or more foreign electrodes, which, for safety or technical reasons, cannot be electrically separated from it.
BS EN 14505 provides you with criteria for the cathodic protection of complex structures in which there are three alternative methods used as criteria. They are based upon practical experience and are widely used. The three methods include:
- Potential measurement method
- Current method
- Depolarisation measurement method
As a user of BS EN 14505, you are provided with a design document that prepares sufficient detail to satisfy the requirements of safety, design, verification, installation procedures and future inspection.