Electromagnetic Interference Caused by Iraqi 400kV Transmission Lines on Buried Oil Pipelines

Abstract

The electromagnetic interference caused by power transmission lines to oil and gas buried pipelines is under investigation for many years. Especially during fault conditions, large currents and voltages are induced on the pipelines that may pose danger to working personnel or may accelerate the corrosion of the pipelin’es metal. In this research, the Joule effect of eddy currents induced in the oil buriedpipelines due to the magnetic fields produced by nearby 400kV transmission lines in the South of Iraq have been computed. A computational model based on 2D finite element approach to calculate the heat generation rate. The influence of different earth resistivities for homogeneous earth model during steady state andfault conditions is analyzed. A mitigation system using mitigation wires has been simulated to reduce induced eddy current heating effects to the safety limit.

Keywords

• electromagnetic interference
• finite element method
• pipelines
• eddy current