What CP techs and coating inspectors call their reference electrode, usually a copper-copper sulfate unit, because electrochemically it is one half of the measuring cell. Techs talk about setting the half-cell in moist soil directly over the pipe, wetting dry ground for contact and keeping it shaded, since poor contact and temperature both skew readings.
Ground's bone dry, pour a little water on the spot before you set the half-cell down.
Set the half-cell directly over the pipe, not off to the side. A few metres of offset adds IR error and can hide a problem.
Also heard as
- cell
- copper cell
- half cell
Related terms
Reference electrode
Electrode with a stable, known potential that serves as the fixed zero for measuring structure potentials.
CSE
Copper-copper sulfate electrode, the standard reference for pipe-to-soil potential readings.
Pipe-to-soil potential
Voltage between a buried pipe and a reference electrode on the soil surface, the basic CP measurement.