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Editorial: Selecting the proper inspection programs
Editorial: Selecting the proper inspection programs
Considering systemic approaches and effective models, with detailed steps and an integrated management program for all components and assets in any pipeline network can enhance the reliability of the network, and promote the system to the next level of excellence. Pipelines comprise of the most efficient methods of energy transportation and…
How to see what cannot be seen within a Disastrous, Highly Corroded Subsea Gas Pipeline during Repair and Pre- Commissioning Process
How to see what cannot be seen within a Disastrous, Highly Corroded Subsea Gas Pipeline during Repair and Pre- Commissioning Process
Repairing a subsea pipeline has its own special challenges. It goes from levelling the pipeline inner pressure with seabed pressure at depth of damage, to cutting the line, installation of smart flanges and spool pieces, and finally going through pre-commissioning steps and miscellaneous pigging operations. During all these steps, it is inevitable…
In-pipe Ultrasonic Inspections of Mud and Tailing Lines: how to manage difficult to remove Scaling, provide quality and accurate Defect Assessments of steel and HDPE
In-pipe Ultrasonic Inspections of Mud and Tailing Lines: how to manage difficult to remove Scaling, provide quality and accurate Defect Assessments of steel and HDPE
Rio Tinto Yarwun Aluminium Refinery (RTY) is expanding its pipeline integrity assessment technologies. As part of this effort, RTY has been working with Intero Integrity Services (Intero) to introduce Intero’s Pipeline Surveyor services, a free-swimming pipe inspection tool.Rio Tinto is one of the world's largest mining companies, operating in 25…
ptj Insights - Defects in Pipelines and their Assessment
ptj Insights - Defects in Pipelines and their Assessment
There are over 4 million kilometres of transmission pipelines transporting crude oil and its products, and natural gases around the World. These costly and valuable, but potentially hazardous, assets are ageing,with most over, or approaching, 50 years old. This ageing can cause defects such as corrosion in the pipelines, but the good news is that…
Robust Ultrasonic Transducers for Pipeline Inspection
Robust Ultrasonic Transducers for Pipeline Inspection
Pipeline inspection for cracks and corrosion through intelligent inline tools relies on ultrasonic probes, demanding a 100% first-run success rate to minimize costs. These probes face harsh environmental conditions within pipelines, necessitating utmost stability for optimal functionality. Material selection and rigorous testing during development…
Small Diameter Pipeline Inspection
Small Diameter Pipeline Inspection
Conventional tools for inspecting pipelines have historically been designed for long length, larger diameter transmission lines, typically up to 48 inches. Correspondingly, pipeline inspection gauges (PIGs) designed to inspect these pipelines have comparable diameters and consist of multiple carriages equipped with diverse inspection tools, logic…
The Challenge of an All-In-One Inspection - First Results and Benefits
The Challenge of an All-In-One Inspection - First Results and Benefits
For more than 5 years TRAPIL, a pipeline operator has researched an inspection tool that would allow, in a single run, the detection, location, identification and sizing of dents, metal losses and crack anomalies (axial and circumferential) affecting liquid product pipelines. The search for an “all-in-one” tool would generate gains in terms…
Editorial: Data Science & Artificial Intelligence
Editorial: Data Science & Artificial Intelligence
W. Edwards Deming, a prominent statistician and consultant in the field of quality management during the latter half of the twentieth century, asserted that every corporation should have a skilled statistician reporting to the senior leadership so that critical decisions could be based on sound statistical evidence. The rise of data science as a…
Distributed Fiber Optic Sensing for Leak Detection: Tuning, field-testing and the future
Distributed Fiber Optic Sensing for Leak Detection: Tuning, field-testing and the future
Distributed Fiber Optic Sensing is a highly sensitive technology for leak detection that can provide rapid detection and precise locating of small leaks. The evidence from field trials and real-world leaks is becoming increasingly available and more and more pipelines are implementing the technology for leak detection. Under controlled testing, it…
Enhancing External Corrosion Direct Assessment With Machine Learning
Enhancing External Corrosion Direct Assessment With Machine Learning
Operators need to keep their pipelines fit for purpose, maximize life and control costs. External corrosion is one of the main threats faced by operators, costing millions annually in identification, mitigation and repair. Although many methods exist to model the growth of corrosion features, the situation is often most complicated for “unpiggable…
Mastering the Match: A Comprehensive Validation of Run Comparison Software Using Synthetic Data
Mastering the Match: A Comprehensive Validation of Run Comparison Software Using Synthetic Data
This study rigorously validates run comparison (RC) software, essential for accurate corrosion growth rate assessments in pipelines, using an extensive synthetic dataset and an experimental K-nearest neighbours-based algorithm across 2,000 diverse spools. Detailed within the paper are the synthetic data generation, in-line inspection (ILI) run…
Monitoring and Anomaly Detection Approaches with AI and Data Analytics for Pipelines
Monitoring and Anomaly Detection Approaches with AI and Data Analytics for Pipelines
Effective monitoring and anomaly detection are fundamental prerequisites for safeguarding the efficiency, integrity and reliability of pipeline systems. Here, we explore both physics-based and machine-learning approaches for operational asset monitoring and anomaly detection, as well as evaluate their performance and appropriateness across a…
Pipeline Joint Identification using Neural Networks
Pipeline Joint Identification using Neural Networks
Conventional inline inspection (ILI) tools use odometer wheels to determine the location of identified defects. On top of that, above ground markers (AGMs) are used to confirm and potentially correct for odometer wheel slippage. Free-floating unconventional ILI tools use information from a variety of sensors to accurately locate defects.…
The Future of Risk based Integrity Management using AI Approaches
The Future of Risk based Integrity Management using AI Approaches
Pipeline Integrity Management Systems (PIMS) have significantly improved the safety of pipelines in Europe and the United States. New technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and modern Geographic Information System (GIS) visualization can and will elevate pipeline integrity to a new level. However, challenges for pipeline integrity have…
Toward AI Data-Driven Pipeline Monitoring Systems
Toward AI Data-Driven Pipeline Monitoring Systems
This work focuses on the application of artificial intelligence methods to enhance pipeline monitoring systems, specifically Third-Party Interference (TPI) and leak detection. A critical aspect of pipeline monitoring revolves around determining the operational state of the pipeline. This is paramount because the processing algorithms are…
Editorial: GRTgaz is a European leader in natural gas transmission and a world expert in gas systems.
Editorial: GRTgaz is a European leader in natural gas transmission and a world expert in gas systems.
In France, the company operates more than 32,500 km of buried transportation pipelines. These structures cover most of the French territory and are subject to regular monitoring and inspection, as part of our maintenance programs, to ensure their operational safety.Some of these pipelines cross areas that can be hard to access or where field…
Development of a Semi-quantitative Risk Assessment Approach for Pipelines
Development of a Semi-quantitative Risk Assessment Approach for Pipelines
Pipelines are typically designed using different practices and codes than in-plant piping. While Risk-based Inspection (RBI) quantitative methodologies have evolved and been applied for in-plant piping, e.g. API RP 581, limited methodology framework has been specified and widely used for pipelines, in a similar approach.Alternatively, for…
Digitalization of Pipeline Monitoring with Drones and AI at Thyssengas
Digitalization of Pipeline Monitoring with Drones and AI at Thyssengas
Pipeline operators are obliged to regularly monitor their pipeline grid for potential third-party interferences (TPI). They need a reliable, cost-effective method to acquire and analyze aerial images of their pipeline in an automated process. This paper presents the concept of AIMI (Airborne Intelligent Monitoring of Infrastructures), a project…
Managing the Threat of Hard Spots in Gas Transmission Pipelines
Managing the Threat of Hard Spots in Gas Transmission Pipelines
Hard spots are a type of threat many operators are managing as part of their integrity management plan. Hard spots are areas on the pipeline that are more susceptible to cracking or could pose an integrity concern in combination with other threats. The United States gas transmission regulation, 49 CFR 192.3, defines a hard spot as “an area on…
Pipeline 3D-Positioning at river crossing: Long-Range Magnetic Mapping via Unmanned Aerial System (UAS)
Pipeline 3D-Positioning at river crossing: Long-Range Magnetic Mapping via Unmanned Aerial System (UAS)
Pipeline networks traverse modern societies' national territories and can be located in areas difficult to access, such as river crossings, making maintenance logistically challenging and potentially dangerous for field personnel. In order to resolve this problem, Skipper NDT has developed an unmanned aerial system (UAS) for magnetic mapping which…
Process Analytics secures the Quality of CO2 Pipeline Management
Process Analytics secures the Quality of CO2 Pipeline Management
CO2 is a fundamental building block in the global decarbonization process. In order to successfully develop the individual processes for the separation of CO2 in the coming years, a reliable transport network, for example via pipelines, is a key issue.Here, process analytics plays an important role here to efficiently monitor and control the…
Stress Concentration Tomography with Machine Learning for Defect Severity Classification
Stress Concentration Tomography with Machine Learning for Defect Severity Classification
Defect severity classification holds significant importance within industries that prioritize quality control. This study proposes a novel approach that applies machine learning with Stress Concentration Tomography (SCT) to effectively categorize defects’ severity. Through the utilization of machine learning algorithms, the objective is to enhance…
The Arrival Oil and Gas Pipeline Monitoring with Satellite-Based Hyperspectral Imaging
The Arrival Oil and Gas Pipeline Monitoring with Satellite-Based Hyperspectral Imaging
Hyperspectral imagery (HSI) began in the 1980s and has been used by the U.S. government for years, but it just recently became available for commercial use. This technology has a vast range of potential applications, with oil and gas pipeline monitoring being one of the most prominent examples. HSI enables unparalleled daily global pipeline leak…
Editorial: Greetings to all our esteemed readers
Editorial: Greetings to all our esteemed readers
As managing directors of the EITEP Institute, it is our pleasure to welcome you to our 10th anniversary edition of the Pipeline Technology Journal (ptj). Since its first issue in 2013, our journal has grown into a widely recognized and respected source of information and analysis for pipeline professionals. As we mark this milestone, we want to…
Innovative Solutions to Address Stabilization Challenges of a 48-Year Old Subsea Pipeline
Innovative Solutions to Address Stabilization Challenges of a 48-Year Old Subsea Pipeline
Subsea pipelines are externally concrete coated to provide vertical and lateral stability. The loss of concrete can lead to floatation or lateral movement on the seabed. If seabed is hard/rocky, then lateral rubbing may lead to wall thinning at 6 o'clock and can result in a leak or flattening at the bottom affecting ovality. This paper presents…