Tell us a bit about your background, and how you came to be involved in research in the Australian pipeline industry.
In 2005 I graduated from JiLin University, located in Changchun, China, with a Bachelor in Construction Management.
In 2012 I attained a Master of Professional Water Engineering from Deakin University in Victoria.
My final year experiment was titled “˜Effects of high salt concentration and residue on copper and aluminium corrosion’ and the results were published.
Deakin University Professor Mike Tan supervised my final year experiment.
The support shown by Professor Tan and Professor Maria Forsyth during this time kindled my enthusiasm and led me to pursue a PhD.
What does your PhD focus on, and what are the likely positive outcomes or recommendations for the Australian pipeline industry?
My PhD examines the effects of electrical interference signals and the environment on the effectiveness of cathodic protection (CP).
The aim of this project is to conduct a fundamental study of stray current and environmental influences on CP efficiency.
The results of this study may help to improve the Australian pipeline industry CP standard.
Which areas of expertise are being developed from this PhD?
A new experimental approach is employed to overcome difficulties in the fundamental study of CP failure and in the understanding of critical factors affecting CP efficiency.
In particular, a novel electrochemical corrosion cell has been developed by employing an electrolyte that mimics the high resistivity of soil and by partitioning anodic and cathodic zones using ion selective and conducting membranes to mimic pH conditions in CP systems.
This new approach has enabled in-situ observation of corrosion processes and patterns, and allowed the correlation of corrosion behaviour with different forms of potential excursions over various experimental periods.
Preliminary results have shown that this research approach has been successful in providing valuable information for future field testing and research work.
Why is this sort of expertise necessary in the Australian pipeline industry?
CP failure due to excursions from a safe CP level is a challenge for the protection and maintenance of buried energy pipelines.
Although it has been shown in the literature that stray current is a major factor contributing to CP failure, there is little consensus on how “˜big’ excursions – either in magnitude, length or frequency – need to be in order to cause major pipeline corrosion problems.
This uncertainty has caused difficulties in selecting suitable parameters in relevant industry standards.
Technological difficulties are considered to be the prime reason responsible for the slow progress in understanding CP excursion-induced failures and their mechanisms.
What research programs are you currently involved with that are applicable to the Australian pipeline industry?
I am involved in the Energy Pipelines Cooperative Research Centre’s research program RP2-08B, which is titled “˜Improved Cathodic Protection for Line Pipe’ and examines transient loss of CP.
What do you plan to do after you complete your PhD?
I will complete my PhD in 2016.
I would like to work in the pipeline industry and then do further research based on my practical experiences.
What are your interests outside of research and development in the industry?
I enjoy fishing and hiking although, since moving to Geelong, good fishing spots are limited!