Plastic Pipeline Deficiency Inspection for Pipeline Integrity Management

Project Innovation

The project will focus on extensive testing of a relatively mature Non-Destructive Evaluation (NDE) Phased Array Ultrasonic Testing (PAUT) tool, technical readiness level >5, capable of identifying cracks in the wall of pipes and defects in fusion joints. The fieldwork will be supported by extensive laboratory testing aimed at verification of inspection results and accelerated lifetime testing of the pipe assemblies where indications of defects were found. The primary objective of this effort is to demonstrate the probability of detection of different categories of anomalies in plastic pipe assemblies when using PAUT tools. The secondary objective is to develop a correlation of indications found to the expected residual lifetime of the asset given the indication of defect. The tertiary objective is to integrate the information provided by the NDE inspections into the risk assessment models. These risk assessment models will fuse multiple sources of information pertaining to the integrity of the pipeline system being evaluated. This approach will allow the development of comparative metrics to compare risk profiles developed without NDE information to those developed with NDE information. The risk assessment information will be incorporated into a holistic integrity management decision support framework culminating in RSE and for benefits to stakeholder metrics. These metrics will allow comparison of impact to integrity management and stakeholder objectives with, and without NDE information.