Elsyca has developed a unique and comprehensive platform for expert modelling and simulation that predicts how a particular cathodic protection system performs even for the most complex situations. It provides quantitative information on the cathodic protection levels and the lifetime of the system, thus reducing the risk of not meeting the design goals and enabling future management of assets to be planned effectively.
 

Elsyca combines the best of existing and validated numerical methods such as the Boundary Element Method (BEM) and the Finite Element Method (FEM), which allows simulating models ranging from micro-scale up to hundreds of kilometres (troubleshooting crevice corrosion under disbonded coatings up to optimizing cathodic protection systems for vast pipeline networks). In addition, this state-of-the-art technology is capable of modelling the cathodic protection of large and complex pipeline networks or structures taking into account interference effects from DC-traction systems (trains, trams, HVDC, other cathodic protection systems,…) and power transmission lines (HVAC, …) and under a variety of conditions (new/end-of-life coating, seawater flow/temperature, …).

Elsyca’s platform and extensive experience in the field of electrochemistry, electrical engineering, metallurgical and materials engineering and mathematics outperforms any existing technology and has been validated by several leading players in the field such as N.V. Nederlandse Gasunie, Suez Energy International, Sasol Gas and Technology, ArcelorMittal, etc.
 

In order to ensure a highly efficient and low cost protection of buried and submerged structures, it is necessary to optimise the design of the cathodic protection system(s). This requires an understanding of the behaviour of the electrical/electrochemical process performance in terms of current and potential distributions on the electrodes and in the electrolytic medium (soil or water).
 

When designing a cathodic protection system, the aim is to obtain a structure-to-electrolyte potential on the entire structure that is more negative than a certain minimum protection level.
 

In soils, for example, this minimum level is normally taken at −0.85V versus a copper-sulphate reference electrode (CSE) that needs to be placed directly adjacent to the pipeline in order to reduce the IR-drop in the soil and over the coating. The value obtained in this situation is referred to as the "off" potential.
 

In practice however, due to the hidden character of the structure or pipeline, it is often not possible to put the reference electrode directly near the structure or pipeline. Instead, the reference electrode is put at the ground (surface) level, which can result in important IR-drop errors. The value obtained here is referred to as the "on" potential.
In normal operating conditions, this value is more negative than the (true) ”off” potential, resulting in an overestimate of the obtained protection level.
 

Elsyca’s technology allows calculating both ”on” and ”off” potentials and gives valuable information on the obtained protection levels of your cathodic protection systems, even in very complex interference situations.
 

Elsyca has developed three advanced software tools for the design, modelling and optimization of cathodic protection systems:

• Elsyca CPMaster is a 3D software tool for modelling cathodic and anodic protection systems applied to structures (e.g. tanks, vessels);
• the Elsyca CatPro software tool is especially designed to model the cathodic protection of pipeline networks, taking into account interference from DC-traction (trains, trams) and HVDC systems;
• Elsyca CatProAC is a unique software solution to model and mitigate AC interference on pipeline networks (towers and buried cables).