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U.S.

Department
of Transportation

Pipeline & Hazardous Materials


Safety Administration

Pipeline Safety Stakeholder


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Pipeline Safety
Connects Us All

Fact Sheet: Close Interval


Survey
Quick Facts:

Close Interval Surveys (CIS) also known as pipe-to-soil and


potential gradient surveys are one of several methods for
assessing effectiveness of cathodic protection (CP) systems used on
buried pipelines.
CIS are often used in External Corrosion Direct Assessment (ECDA)
pipeline inspections. Normally, at least two separate inspection
tools, such as CIS, must be used to obtain desired confidence in
inspection results.
CIS are used to measure the potential (voltage) difference between
buried pipes and their surrounding soil.
Where a pipe is located under concrete or asphalt, precautions must
be taken to ensure good electrical contact with surrounding soil.
This is typically accomplished by boring holes through the concrete
or asphalt to allow contact with the soil.

Applicability of Close Interval Surveys

CIS are used to assess the performance of installed CP systems on


underground pipelines
CIS can also be used to detect some coating holidays (defects). CIS
is not effective for detecting very small coating holidays.
CIS is not effective if a pipeline is located under frozen ground;
where the pipe coating is disbonded resulting in a non-continuous
electrical path to the soil; where the pipe is enclosed in a casing;
where the pipeline is located in rocky terrain; or where the pipe is
located under a paved road. In these cases, another assessment
tool should be considered.

Three basic types of Close Interval Surveys

On/off potential surveys measure the potential difference


between the pipe and the ground surface, as the cathodic protection is
switched on and off. On-off surveys are used to evaluate the
performance of the CP system against system performance criteria,
and can be used to detect some coating anomalies
Depolarized potential surveys measure the potential difference
between the pipe and the ground surface after the cathodic protection
current has been switched off long enough for the pipe-to-soil
potential to stabilize. Depolarized potential is used to evaluate CP
system effectiveness by measuring polarization decay.

On potential surveys measure the potential difference between


the pipe and the ground surface at regular intervals, while the
cathodic protection is operating in its normal mode. On potential
surveys are used when CP current sources cannot be interrupted.
Date of Revision: 12012011

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