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e Journal

May 2015

edition no5 | MAy 2015

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ISSN 2196-4300

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10th anniversary of

Pipeline Technology Conference

8-10 June 2015, Berlin, Germany

th

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10th Pipeline Technology Conference

Europes Leading Conference and Exhibition on
New Pipeline Technologies
8-10 June 2015, Estrel Berlin, Berlin, Germany

www.pipeline-conference.com

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PIPELINE TECHNOLOGY JOURNAL 3

EDITORIAL

Welcome

Message from the editor

The Pipeline Technology Journal (ptj) is published for the fifth time. Its design as
well as its internal structure clearly sharpened in comparison with the first issues.
What remain are the close ties to the Pipeline Technology Conference (ptc) in
Berlin and the occupation with research and development at an early stadium.
It thus offers the possibility to support discussions among the pipeline community
on new developments considering experiences worldwide.
Unlike the Poster-show that establishes a selective professional public
during the annual ptc conference, the journal ptj will be thus published
four times a year to intensively report about research and development
helping to optimize the construction, operation and life support of pipelines.

Dr. Klaus Ritter

The triggers for this promotion were the requirements of many operators who are participants of the Pipeline Technology Conference (ptc) to
speed in dealing with issues of pipeline safety and longevity.
Help us to meet these demands and provide us Your new solutions.
Our ptc Editorial and ptc Advisory Board are available to further encourage the development of Pipeline technologies from the point of view of safety and durability.
Yours sincerely
> Dr. Klaus RItter, Editor in Chief

ptc Advisory Committee / ptj Editorial board

cHAIRMeN
Dr. Klaus Ritter, President, EITEP
Institute

Uwe Ringel, Managing Director,

ONTRAS Gastransport

Members
Muhammad Sultan Al-Qahtani,
General Manager, Pipelines, Saudi
Aramco

Waleed Al-Shuaib, Manager

Support Services Group (S&EK),
Kuwait Oil Company (KOC)

Juan Arzuaga, Executive Secretary,

IPLOCA

Markus Rieder, Head of Department

Pipelines, TV SD Industrie Service

Arthur Braga, Director, RB&B

Consulting

Uwe Breig, Member of the Executive Board / BU Utility Tunnelling ,

Herrenknecht

Filippo Cinelli, Senior Marketing

Manager, GE Oil & Gas

Hermann Rosen, President, ROSEN

Group

Mohamed Daoud, Manager (Projects

QM), Abu Dhabi Company for Onshore Oil Operations (ADCO)

Ricardo Dias de Souza, Oil Engineer - Senior Advisor, Petrobras /

Transpetro

Jens Focke, Head of Sales & Marketing, GEOMAGIC

Ulrich Schneider, Business

Development Manager Continental
Europe, KTN

Andreas Haskamp, Pipeline Joint

Venture Management, BP Europa SE

Dr. Hans-Georg Hillenbrand,

Director Technical Services,
Europipe

Jrg Himmerich, Managing Director

/ Technical Expert, Dr.-Ing. Veenker
Ing.-ges.

Carlo Maria Spinelli, Technology

Planner, eni gas & power

Maximilian Hofmann, Managing

Director, MAX STREICHER

Dr. Thomas Hwener, Managing

Director Technical Services, Open
Grid Europe

Mark David Iden, Director,

Charterford House

Asle Venas, Global Director Pipelines,

DNV GL

Dirk Jedziny, Vice President - Head

of Cluster Ruhr North, Evonik
Industries

Cliff Johnson, President, PRCI

- Pipeline Research Council
International

Dr. Gerhard Knauf, Head of Div.

Mech. Eng., Salzgitter Mannesmann
Forschung / Secretary General,
EPRG

Tobias Walk, Director of Projects

Pipeline Systems, ILF Consulting
Engineers

Wolfgang Krieg, President, NDT

Global

Reinhold Krumnack, Div. Head, DVGW

- German Technical and Scientific
Association for Gas & Water

Mike Liepe, Head Business Solution

Line O&G Pipelines, Siemens

Heinz Watzka, Senior Advisor, EITEP

Institute

Ralf Middelhauve, Head of Central

Dept. Process Industrie / Plant
Engineering and Operation, TV
NORD Systems

Prof. Dr. Joachim Mller-Kirchenbauer, Head of Dept. Gas Supply,

TU Clausthal

Frank Rathlev, Manager of Network

Operations, Thyssengas

Conference Management
Dennis Fandrich, Director Conferences, EITEP Institute

Nord Stream Underwater Tie-In Background

Each of the two Nord Stream Pipelines is built in three sections.
Once completed, the sections must be welded together to form
the 1,224 kilometre pipelines. This "tie-in" process takes place
on the seabed in an underwater welding habitat. Welding operations are remotely controlled from a support vessel, and divers
assist and monitor the subsea construction work.

Andrey Voronov
(Offshore Manager,
Nord Stream AG) will
report about The Nord Stream
Offshore Pipeline Repair Strategy during
the 10th Pipeline Technology
Conference, 8-10 June 2015
Berlin, Germany
www.pipeline-conference.com

by Nord Stream

6 PIPELINE TECHNOLOGY JOURNAL

CONTENT

HIGHLIGHTS
MAY 2015
EDITION 05

22
Pipeline Voltage
Possible Reasons why calculations of inductive interference pipeline voltages are highter
than conducted measurements

32

46
46

50

Buried Steel
Seismic analysis of buried
steel pipeline subjected to
ground deformation with
emphasis on the numerical
modelling optimization

56

CSSP - Common Seawater Supply Project

As the second largest oil producer of OPEC nations, Iraqs economy
fully depends on the stability and growth of the national oil industry.
It is therefore of paramount importance to keep the oil production at
target level. To achieve this goal it is necessary to apply secondary oil
recovery methods.

Dent Hunting
For pipeline integrity management detailed feature assessments based
on finite element analysis (FEA) are getting more and more important.
Considering dents as one of the major integrity threads of pipelines,
the finite element analysis helps to differentiate between severe and
benign dents.

Remote Welding Systems (RWS)

Statoil have, after several years of testing and technical qualification
work, developed a Remote Welding System that was qualified for contingency in the Pipeline Repair System pool services in December 2014.
The system is rated for operation down to 1000msw and covers pipelines which are in depths exceeding the limit for diver assisted operations, which is currently 180msw.

40
Grand Theft Pipeline
Finite element simulation of guided
waves to detect product theft from
pipelines

60

New era of In-Line Inspection (ILI)

Intelligent Pigs for Internal Inspection & Repair Welding of Cross-Country
Pipelines Capital cost for crude trunk pipelines is very high, depending
on the pipeline steel grade, the design wall-thickness, and the length of
the pipeline. These factors often force the product owners to construct
most of the cross-country pipeline network in a single channel, making it
difficult to shutdown for inspection, maintenance, or repair.

PIPELINE TECHNOLOGY JOURNAL 7

CONTENT

THIS ISSUES
COMPLETE CONTENT
7 PIPELINE TECHNOLOGY JOURNAL

INDUSTRY AND PRACTICE

World News

In-Line Inspection of Challenging Pipelines Validated with Flow Loop Simulations

10

Sawyer Mfg. Co. improves the Ratchet Clamp-Model 255

10

Atmos Internationals new theft solutions at PTC

11

Tracto Technik offers solutions for HDD Projects during Pipeline technology conference (ptc)

12

New Research into Aerial Vehicle Technologies to Enhance Pipeline Monitoring

14

Discovery completes successful deployment on Shell assets in the gulf of mexico

14

Technips subsidiary Tipiel awarded a contract for a new gas pipeline in Peru

15

ShawCor Announces Contract to Provide Pipe Coating Services for the GNEA Project in Argentina

15

Xcel Energy will use drone technology to protect and improve energy reliability and safety

15

Special Feature
7 PIPELINE TECHNOLOGY JOURNAL

PIPELINE TECHNOLOGY CONFERENCE (ptc)

10th Pipeline Technology Conference (ptc) anniversery 8-10 June 2015 in Berlin

16

7 PIPELINE TECHNOLOGY JOURNAL

RESEARCH / DEVELOPMENT / TECHNOLOGY

Pipeline Voltage - possible reasons why calculations of inductive interference pipeline
voltages are highter than conducted measurements

22

Buried Steel - Seismic analysis of buried steel pipelines subjected to ground deformation with
emphasis on the numerical modelling optimization

32

Grand Theft Pipeline - finite element simulation of guided waves to detect product theft from pipelines

40

Common Seawater Supply Project (CSSP) - enabling one of the worlds top oil producing regions

46

Dent Hunting - using high resolution in-line inspection technologies and finite element analysis

50

Remote Welding System (RWS) - new fully remote hyperbarbic welding system rated to 1000 msw

56

New era of In-Line Inspection (ILI) - intelligent Pigs for internal inspection & repair welding of
cross-country Pipelines

60

7 PIPELINE TECHNOLOGY JOURNAL

CONFERENCES / SEMINARS / EXHIBITIONS

In-Line Inspection of Onshore and Offshore Pipelines
Geohazards and Geotechnics in Pipeline Engineering
Microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC) and its impact on pipeline corrosion management

70
70
70

8 PIPELINE TECHNOLOGY JOURNAL

INDUSTRY AND PRACTICE

North America
seattle / U.s.a
Quest Integritiy Group announces
flow loop simulation capabilities,
including client-specific pipeline
configurations, to validate its
InVista ultrasonic in-line inspec-

Enbridge Pipelines, TransCanada Corporation and Kinder

Morgan Canada have signed a Joint Industry Partnership
agreement to conduct research into aerial-based leak detection technologies with the aim of enhancing pipeline safety
throughout North America.
Page 14

tion (ILI) technology in

demanding environments.
Visit Quest Integrity Group
at ptc 2015 stand 41.
Page 10

minneapolis / U.s.a
Xcel Energy will use drone technology to protect and improve
energy reliability and safety

gulf of mexico

Page 15

Discovery, the worlds first

subsea CT scanner for flowlines,
has successfully completed the
first deep-water deployment on
Shell-operated flowlines in the
Gulf of Mexico.
Page 14

argentinia
oklahoma / U.s.a

ShawCor Ltd. announced that its

Sawyer Manufacturing Company

pipe coating division has received

has redesigned its Ratchet Clamp

two contracts for approximately

with a lower profile to allow better

US$55 million from Tenaris to

access to the butt join, helping

provide three layer polyethylene

welders effectively and quickly

anti-corrosion pipeline coatings for

align and weld pipe.

the first and second phase of the

Page 10

Argentina Northeast Gas Pipeline

(GNEA) project.
Page 15

PIPELINE TECHNOLOGY JOURNAL 9

INDUSTRY AND PRACTICE

manchester / great britain

Atmos International (Atmos) will celebrate 20
years in the pipeline industry by exhibiting new
theft detection solutions at Pipeline Technology
Conference 2015 (stand 52).
Page 11

Lennestadt / Germany
When problems arise on an HDD project, quick
action is required to avoid a costly situation.
Over the last years, several pipe ramming techniques have been developed to assist directional drill rigs in difficult situations. Tracto Technik
offers such solutions for HDD projects during
Pipeline Technology Conference (ptc) 2015
Page 12

paris / France
Technips subsidiary
Tipiel awarded a
contract for a new
gas pipeline in Peru
Page 15

WORLD
NEWS

10 PIPELINE TECHNOLOGY JOURNAL

INDUSTRY AND PRACTICE

In-Line Inspection of Challenging Pipelines

Validated with Flow Loop Simulations

Sawyer Mfg. Co. improves the Ratchet

Clamp-Model 255

Quest Integrity Group announces flow loop simulation capabilities,

including client-specific pipeline configurations, to validate its InVista ultrasonic in-line inspection (ILI) technology in demanding environments. Visit Quest Integrity Group at ptc 2015 stand 41.

Sawyer Manufacturing Company has redesigned its Ratchet Clamp

with a lower profile to allow better access to the butt join, helping
welders effectively and quickly align and weld pipe.

Quest Integrity conducts flow test loop demonstrations in various

locations worldwide and can custom build flow loops for clients to
include their real-world ILI challenges such as heavy wall piping, dual-diameters, reduced port valves, 1D bends, risers, unbarred tees and
wyes. By simulating multiple ILI obstacles in a test environment, the
company effectively demonstrates the navigational proficiency of the
InVista tool, and pipeline operators gain first-hand knowledge of the
tools capabilities for their pipelines.
The company recently constructed a 6-inch custom flow loop for a
large, international oil and gas client in Houston, Texas. The client
needs integrity management data for a high-profile, heavy wall sour
gas pipeline asset in the United States, but wanted to avoid failed
run or stuck tool situations. Quest Integritys flow loop simulations
included running the tool at varying speeds and bi-directionally to
validate data collection and operational capabilities. InVista successfully overcame the operational trials presented and collected accurate data for both known and unknown defects in the line.
As an added value to our clients, we build flow test loops to their
specifications to simulate an in-service challenging ILI run in a test
environment, said Stefan Papenfuss, Vice President - Pipeline Resources, at Quest Integrity. This provides our clients with procedural
information and project confidence while demonstrating the many
benefits of the InVista technology for their critical pipeline assets
without the potential risks associated with testing an in-service pipeline.
For further information:
http://www.questintegrity.com/services/inspection-services/pipeline-in-line-inspection

The ratchet mechanism was also improved with a built-in handle and
enclosed threads to protect against dirt and weld splatter, all while retaining the true double ratchet feature that allows for quicker closure
on the pipe to increase speed and performance. This mechanism
permits the clamp to align
pipe quicker than any other
ratchet clamp on the market.
The Ratchet Clamp is built
with a focus on speed and
accuracy. This 10-ton ratchet will deliver precision and
rugged durability with ease.
The clamp is designed with
an open bridgework to allow
full 360-degree welding, ensuring a quality weld, and the
machined headrings are precision bored for consistent
and accurate fit up. Also, the
Ratchet Clamps new yellow
color provides high visibility
and improved safety.
Improvements in the manufacturing process have allowed Sawyer Mfg. Co. to offer a price that is even more
competitive. There are a lot
of clamps out there, said Dave
Hembree, Sawyer Manufacturing Vice President. I believe our customers will be pleasantly surprised by the small but important changes we made with this clamp.
Sawyer equipment is used worldwide in the construction and maintenance of pipeline, waste water and sewer lines, marine and offshore
applications, gathering and distribution systems, and other welding
and pipeline applications.
For further information:
E-mail [email protected]

Send latest Pipeline related news to: [email protected]

www.pipeline-journal.net

PIPELINE TECHNOLOGY JOURNAL 11

INDUSTRY AND PRACTICE

Atmos Internationals new theft

solutions at PTC
Atmos International (Atmos) will celebrate 20 years in the pipeline
industry by exhibiting new theft detection solutions at Pipeline Technology Conference (stand 52).
Atmos already offers Atmos Wave, which detects theft valve movement; and Atmos Wave Flow which, with sensitivity to 0.1% of the
flow rate, can potentially detect theft within two minutes. However, Jun Zhang, Managing Director, Atmos, explained, Were seeing
meticulously planned, near-invisible taps by well-organized gangs
that significantly impact a pipeline users profits. Rapid detection is
essential for minimizing financial, environmental, and reputational
damage.
Our powerful new detection solutions enable clients to react instantly and catch criminals red-handed.
Atmos Theft Net
As illicit connections have become smaller, more intermittent and
harder to detect, so detection systems must become more sensitive.
This increases the rate of false alarms, which can be costly but also
dangerous if they result in genuine alarms being ignored. Atmos experts are trained in the latest techniques for spotting theft in action
and offer this unique analysis service to save clients time and loss,
and help them prosecute. To collect data, Atmos has developed:

Atmos Portable Data Logger for Leak and Theft Detection

Atmos Portable Data Logger for Leak and Theft Detection

This case-based autonomous data logging solution can be rapidly
deployed either by your staff or Atmos - to collect the pressure and
flow data where taps are suspected. Data can be collected on site or
remotely.
Atmos Hydrostatic Tester
This portable kit takes hydrostatic testing to unprecedented levels. It
uses both pressure and acoustic sensors to identify even tiny leaks
or intermittent tapping, with location accuracy to 2 meters. It is ideal for where pipeline integrity testing is mandatory, and negates the
need for costly yet limited options with dyed or odorized water.
Odin
This revolutionary battery-based theft detection solution has been
designed for pipelines previously in a detection black hole for example, in areas without power or communications, or where standard
detection units are undesirable for aesthetic reasons (as in National
Parks.) Small and unobtrusive, it can be hidden near suspected tapping points, yet has the sensitivity of permanent detection systems.
For further information:
Georgina Amica-Carpenter, Marketing Associate
Tel: +44 161 445 8080
E-mail: [email protected]

Battery-based theft detection solution ODIN has been designed

for pipelines previously in a detection black hole.

12 PIPELINE TECHNOLOGY JOURNAL

INDUSTRY AND PRACTICE

TRACTO TECHNIK offers solutions for HDD

Projects during PIPeline technology
conference (STAND 47)
When problems arise on an HDD project, quick action is required to
avoid a costly situation. Over the last years, several pipe ramming
techniques have been developed to assist directional drill rigs in
difficult situations. Having a ramming hammer on site during HDD
projects ensures a trouble free installation as the combination of the
HDD techniques static pulling force with the ramming techniques
dynamic impact offers proven solutions for tough drilling problems.
Conductor Barrel: Installation of casing pipes for HDD
crossings
The concept behind the Conductor Barrel is creating a clear pathway
through poor soil conditions so that drilling can begin in more favourable soil conditions. The success of a drilling operation can often
be determined right from the outset. Loose, unsupported soils are
prime candidates for this method. During the Conductor Barrel process, casings are rammed into the ground, at a predetermined angle,
until desirable soil conditions are encountered. The spoil is removed
from the casing prior to the drilling operation. Drilling starts within
the casing in the favourable soil conditions. The conductor barrel can
also serve as a friction-free section during the pullback operation or
prevent situations in unstable soils acting in a similar fashion to containment cells.
Pullback Assist
The pullback assist technique incorporates the use of both a pipe
rammer and an HDD rig working in tandem to get a problematic
product pipe installed. When drilling underwater or in loose flowing
soil conditions, hydrolock can occur. This happens when the external
pressure being put on the product pipe from ground water pressure,
drilling fluid pressure and/or soil conditions exceeds the drill rigs
pullback capacity, or the product pipes tensile strength. The percussive action of a pipe rammer in this situation is used to help free the
jammed pipe.

Drill Rod Recovery: Loosening of jammed HDD drill rod

The principal is the same during drill rod recovery, as it is during bore
salvage, however, there are two possible tooling configurations. Depending on the situation, contractors can remove the drill rod from
the ground or, if the rod is still attached to the drill rig, push on the rod
while the drill rig pulls back.
Bore Salvage: Rescuing /
Removing jammed product pipes
This simple yet highly effective technique is used to remove jammed
product pipes. During the bore salvage operation the Grundoram pipe
rammer is attached to the end of the partially installed product pipe.
The pipe rammer is attached to the product pipe so that it pulls the
pipe from the ground. This can be accomplished through a fabricated
sleeve. A winch or some form of pulling device is used to assist the
rammer during operation. In many cases, the percussive power of the
pipe rammer is enough to free the jammed product pipe and allow it
to be removed from the ground.
For further information:
TRACTO-TECHNIK GmbH & Co. KG
Tel. (+49) 2723 808-0
Fax (+49) 2723 / 808-180
E-Mail: [email protected]
Internet: www.tracto-technik.de

e Journal

President: Dr. Klaus Ritter

Register Court: Amtsgericht Hannover
Company Registration Number: HRB 56648
Value Added Tax Identification Number: DE 182833034
Editors in Chief
Dr. Klaus Ritter
E-Mail: [email protected]
Tel:
+49 (0)511 90992-10
Editorial Board
Advisory Committee of the Pipeline Technology Conference (ptc)
Editorial Management & Advertising
Rana Alnasir-Boulos
E-Mail: [email protected]
Tel:
+49 (0)511 90992-20

Pipeline Technology Journal

www.pipeline-journal.net
[email protected]
www.pipeline-conference.com

Designer / Layouter
Admir Celovic

Publisher
Euro Institute for Information and Technology Transfer GmbH
Am Listholze 82
30177 Hannover, Germany
Tel:
+49 (0)511 90992-10
Fax:
+49 (0)511 90992-69
URL:
www.eitep.de

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14 PIPELINE TECHNOLOGY JOURNAL

INDUSTRY AND PRACTICE

New Research into Aerial Vehicle Technologies to Enhance Pipeline Monitoring

The pipeline infrastructure in Canada and the United States
is showing growing signs of wear and tear. In the past few
months a series of leaks and explosions from Mississippi to Calgary have led to a number of deaths, damaged
property and polluted the local environment. Against this
background Enbridge Pipelines, TransCanada Corporation and Kinder Morgan Canada have signed a Joint Industry Partnership agreement to conduct research into
aerial-based leak detection technologies with the aim of
enhancing pipeline safety throughout North America.The
partnership suggests an interest in cutting-edge aerial vehicle technology to bolster pipeline safety and reliability. It
is also an attempt to answer a chorus of public demands
for responsible pipeline development and maintenance.
We are committed to identify, develop and test new technologies to further progress key areas of pipeline safety,
such as leak detection. Through collaboration with committed industry partners, we continue to make important
advancements with leak detection technology, says Kirk
Byrtus, Enbridges Vice President of Pipeline Control.
This extension to the Joint Industry Partnership is another great example of the pipeline industry connecting to
make important advancements with leak detection technology, and we look forward to closely working with our
partners, TransCanada and Kinder Morgan.

Discovery completes successful deployment on Shell assets in the gulf of mexico

Discovery, the worlds first subsea CT scanner for flowlines, has
successfully completed the first deep-water deployment on Shell-operated flowlines in the Gulf of Mexico.
Discovery was developed by Tracerco, part of the FTSE100 Johnson
Matthey Plc, in response to an industry need for a non-invasive method of scanning subsea flowlines. The technology is used to establish
the integrity of subsea pipeline assets.
In total, Discovery scanned ten flowlines including jumpers, steel
catenary risers, and pipe in pipe flowlines all of varying diameters.
Over 250 CT scan images over a pipeline length of 50,000 feet, at
depths down to 4,200 feet, were generated. In the Gulf of Mexico,
based on such data, Shell was able to build a complete profile of their
pipeline, which helped to confirm the condition of the asset.

Enbridge, TransCanada, Kinder Morgan working together to evaluate

aerial-based pipeline safety technologies ( 2015, Enbridge Inc.)

Jim Bramlett, Business Development Manager for Tracercos Subsea Technologies division, said: Using Discovery we were able to
quickly deliver data, drip feeding the scans through to Shell engineers then providing an in-depth analysis once we had all the information. We understand that for each day a pipeline is out of action,
or not performing at peak, there are significant financial implications
The planning, preparation and execution of the inspection campaign
was a joint effort which provided access to the Discovery CT scan
images, and Tracercos expert interpretation, within the same day.
Discovery scans pipelines from the outside to gain an accurate
picture of the condition of the pipe and the flow, with no need to remove the protective coating and no interruption to production. It is
a highly accurate, rapid and low risk solution to gaining information
on flowlines including pipe-in-pipe and bundle systems. Discovery
provides a 360 degree, high resolution scan of pipeline contents and
pipe walls in real time, with defect resolution of 1mm.

Shell undertook a comprehensive technology review to select an

inspection solution to support safe, efficient, and competitive operations. Discovery offers three key advantages over alternative inspection technologies:
- The device attaches to the outside of the flowline, allowing the inspection campaign to be conducted while production continues;
- There is no need to remove the insulation coating on the flowline,
minimising the risk of flowline damage or of the build-up of hydrates;
- Scan image data is available in real time, allowing engineers to rapidly evaluate and respond to any integrity and flow assurance problems.
Tracerco Shell deployment in Gulf of Mexico

PIPELINE TECHNOLOGY JOURNAL 15

INDUSTRY AND PRACTICE

Technips subsidiary Tipiel awarded a

contract for a new gas pipeline in Peru
Tipiel(1) S.A., Technips subsidiary in Colombia, was awarded by the
Consorcio Constructor Ductos del Sur(2), a front-end engineering design and detailed engineering design contract, on a lumpsum basis.
This covers the development of a new gas pipeline to transport gas
from the Camisea field to Southern Peru.
Launched by the Peruvian government, the project consists of more
than 1,700 kilometers of 32 gas pipeline. It aims to improve the existing Peruvian Energy Network, contributing to the development of an
Energy Node and Petrochemical Hub in Southern Peru.
The overall work will be performed by Tipiels offices in Bogota, Colombia. Marco Villa, Technips Region B(3) President, commented:
This award reflects the importance to accompany the client since
the very early stage of an initiative to help design an optimized project execution scheme.
Riccardo Nicoletti, Tipiel General Manager, stated: This contract,
which is related to one of the most important projects for the development of energy infrastructure in Peru, serves our objective to make
Tipiel a leading engineering company outside Colombia as well.

ShawCor Announces Contract to Provide

Pipe Coating Services for the GNEA Project in
Argentina
ShawCor Ltd. (TSX:SCL) today announced that its pipe coating division has received two contracts for approximately US$55 million from
Tenaris to provide three layer polyethylene anti-corrosion pipeline
coatings for the first and second phase of the Argentina Northeast Gas
Pipeline (GNEA) project.

Xcel Energy will use drone technology to

protect and improve energy reliability and
safety
FAA approves companys request to use unmanned aircraft for energy
infrastructure inspections
Xcel Energy inspects more than 320,000 miles of electricity and natural gas infrastructure to ensure the safety and reliability of its energy system. Now with approval of the Federal Aviation Administration,
Xcel Energy will be able to more efficiently, effectively and safely monitor its systems using drone technology.
The FAA on May 11 approved Xcel Energys request to operate small
unmanned aircraft systems or drones commercially. Xcel Energy
sought the approval so it can inspect its critical energy infrastructure.
Xcel Energy will use drones to visually inspect electricity transmission
and distribution lines, power plants, renewable energy facilities, substations and natural gas transmission and distribution pipelines.
We are pleased with the FAA decision as we study how this new technology can best be used to enhance employee and public safety at our
operations, said Kent Larson, Xcel Energys executive vice president
and group president of operations.
The use of small unmanned aircraft systems will allow Xcel Energy employees to safely inspect hard to reach areas, keeping the workers out
of danger. Employees will also use drones to observe environmentally
sensitive areas without the use of trucks, helicopters or other utility
equipment, minimizing the environmental impact.
We believe these measures will increase electricity and gas system reliability, reduce customer costs and improve our emergency response
times, said Larson. He added that the companys current plan is to use
drones only over utility property or utility rights of way and away from
populated areas and airports. The drones will be flown at low altitudes
and in the operators line of sight.

This project is owned by ENARSA, an Argentine state-run energy company, and it includes the construction of a gas pipeline that will transport up to 11,200,000 m/day of natural gas to locations in northeast
Argentina.
The execution of these contracts has commenced in ShawCors coating facilities in Argentina and is expected to be completed by Q1 2016.
For further information:
ShawCor Ltd.Gary Love
Vice President, Finance and CFO
Tel: 416-744-5818
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.shawcor.com

The XCEL Drone

16 PIPELINE TECHNOLOGY JOURNAL

PIPELINE TECHNOLOGY CONFERENCE

500+

DELEGATES

50+ EXHIBITORS

55+ DIFFERENT
NATIONS

The Pipeline Technology Conference (ptc),

europes leading pipeline conference and exhibition, the Pipeline Technology Conference (ptc), will take place for the 10th time offering
again opportunities for operators as well as technology and service providers to exchange latest technologies and new developments
supporting the energy strategies world-wide.
The conference will provide panel discussions and special focus sessions on Pipeline Safety, German Energy Turnaround, Challenging Pipelines and Offshore Technologies. For the first time the conference will also feature an Scientific Advances Poster Session
with latest updates on present and upcoming research activities.
ptc will feature lectures and presentations on all aspects surrounding oil, gas, water and product pipeline systems. The exhibition with
more than 50 exhibitors will show latest pipeline technologies and products.
For more information kindly visit: www.pipeline-conference.com

63% of the PTC Delegates are coming from abroad (Europe,

Middle East, North America, South America, Asia, etc.)

PIPELINE TECHNOLOGY JOURNAL 17

PIPELINE TECHNOLOGY CONFERENCE

th

10

RSARY
NIVE
N
A

EUROPES BIGGEST PIPELINE EVENT

THE ANNUAL GATHERING OF THE
INTERNATIONAL PIPELINE COMMUNITY
IN THE HEART OF EUROPE
After starting as a small side event of the huge
HANNOVER MESSE trade show in 2006 in
Hannover, the Pipeline Technology Conference
developed into Europes largest pipeline conference and exhibition. Since 2012 the EITEP Institute
organizes the ptc on its own and moved the event
to Berlin in 2014. The 10th anniversary will again be
a record breaking event.

35+ SUPPORTERS

13

Technical Sessions at ptc 2015

Integrity Management
Geohazards
Construction
Materials
Challenging Pipelines
Inline Inspection
Repair / Rehabilitation
Management
Pump & Compressor Stations
Leak Detection
Monitoring
Coating
Offshore Technologies

18 PIPELINE TECHNOLOGY JOURNAL

PIPELINE TECHNOLOGY CONFERENCE

Pipeline technology
Conference

ptc

One of the worlds major pipeline conferences will be held from June
8-10, 2015 in Berlin. With 500 to 600 participants from about 50
countries, the international Pipeline Technology Conference (ptc) is
already among the largest and most important conferences of its
kind in the world just 10 years after being initiated.
This German international conference is
organized by EITEP (Euro Institute for Information and Technology Transfer in Environmental Protection), based in Hanover. It is especially supported by the major gas network
operators (as to content) and by producers
and service providers from Europe (exhibitors).
Content-related matters are managed by the
internationally staffed 32-member Advisory
Committee, AdCo. The AdCo is particularly
active when it comes to putting together the
conference program. AdCo members submit the received presentation proposals to a
quality check, in which both the content (abstracts) and the potential speakers (CVs) are
evaluated according to such criteria as relevance and topicality.
Over 150 proposals for 50 free presentations for the PTC 2015 were received by the
EITEP following a Call for Papers. The Call
for Papers was sent out to about 22,000
verified addresses from the international
pipeline community in July 2014. The returns
were then examined together with the AdCo
in the manner described.
This process ensures that participants are offered a high-quality program that addresses
and presents for discussion all current and
ongoing developments throughout the world.
Pipeline construction is booming worldwide
except in Europe. Instead, Europe can offer
a lot of experience and technology for operations and maintenance as well as on issues
of safety and long service life. That is ostensibly what participants from Asia, Africa,
Australia and North and South America are
looking for in Europe at the ptc.

For the ptc 2015, the presentation selection

procedure for the 50 free presentations,
which is supplemented by about 10 invited
speakers, has resulted in one plenary session
and 13 technical sessions with 3 to 5 individual presentations. They cover all important,
complex current issues related to the technology of onshore and offshore pipelines.
Due to high demand, the topics of Inline
Inspection, Geohazards and Microbiologically Influenced Corrosion will be offered as
two-day seminars for additional information
following the conference.
15 research institutes from academia and industry are taking advantage of the opportunity to present their latest research results in a
structured poster show.
Two particularly topical issues will be addressed in discussion forums. This year, the
topics will be: 1. Pipeline safety and 2. The
German Energy Transition. Both topics will
be moderated by the former CEO of Open
Grid Europe, Heinz Watzka, who has invited experts from North America and Europe
to participate in the discussion. DVGW Vice
President Dr. Hwener will be involved in
discussion round 1 and DVGW Chairman Dr.
Linke in discussion round 2. This will ensure
that there will be plenty of input into various
aspects of the German gas industry.
The papers from the past 9 years of ptc are
made freely available in a central abstract/
paper database for research purposes at:
www.pipeline-conference.com.

Play Video

PIPELINE TECHNOLOGY JOURNAL 19

PIPELINE TECHNOLOGY CONFERENCE

Combine your
visit with

ptc

Berlin

sightseeing

the international ptc community meets in berlin

Berlin is more than 775 years old and over the decades, all generations have left their monuments and landmarks in town.The capital is a centre for international conventions and trade fairs and the
number one among German cities for conventions. Berlin offers
excellent infrastructure, the most up-to-date locations in Europe, a
diverse range of services and a great shopping mile and night-life.
Berlin is a world city of culture, politics, media, and science. Its economy is based on high-tech firms and the service sector, encompassing a diverse range of creative industries, research facilities, media
corporations, and much more. Berlin serves as a continental hub for
air and rail traffic and has a highly complex public transportation

network. The metropolis is a popular tourist destination. Significant

industries also include IT, pharmaceuticals, biomedical engineering,
clean tech, biotechnology, construction, and electronics. Berlin is
one of the 16 states of Germany with a population of 3.5 million people. It is also the countrys largest city.

20 PIPELINE TECHNOLOGY JOURNAL

PIPELINE TECHNOLOGY CONFERENCE

Impressions from

ptc 2014
in Berlin

Attendees networ

tion

king at the exhibi

Boat-Trip

: Dinner

at Night

Lively and interesting discussions

d ptc 2014 in

e
endees visit
Over 400 Att

See you at

ptc 2015
www.pipeline-conference.com

Plenary sessions during ptc

Berlin

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HIGH
INDUCTIVE
interference on pipelines
due to nearby high voltage
overhead lines

ptc-postershow
This paper will be presented during the
Scientific Advances Poster Session at
10th Pipeline Technology Conference

PIPELINE TECHNOLOGY JOURNAL 23

RESEARCH / DEVELOPMENT / TECHNOLOGY

pipe line
voltage
POSSIBLE REASONS WHY
CALCULATIONS OF INDUCTIVE
INTERFERENCE PIPELINE
VOLTAGES ARE HIGHER THAN
CONDUCTED MEASUREMENTS

Abstract

> by: Christian Wahl

> and: Ernst Schmautzer
> Graz University of Technology
Institute of Electrical Power Systems

Due to bundled energy routes, high voltage energy systems (HVESs),

e.g. overhead lines or AC traction power supply systems, are often located near buried isolated metallic pipelines. Thus, a possible high inductive interference from energy systems may produce hazardous AC
pipeline interference voltages (PIVs). High induced voltage levels can
cause dangerous high touch voltages (personal injuries) and damages to pipeline system components (overvoltage, AC material corrosion).
Therefore, for minimizing the risk of personal injuries and material corrosion, European standards and guidelines (EN 50443 [1], EN 15280 [2])
exist which limit the maximum voltage for long term and short term interference If the PIV is within given limits, the risk for personnel and material is acceptable and no further measures, e.g. AC earthing systems,
special working methods or additional isolating joints along the pipeline
are required and no further mitigation costs are generated.
For this reason it is necessary to calculate the induced PIVs already in
the planning stage or in the case of significant changes in the pipeline
or HVESs to specify necessary protection measures, particularly in areas where the PIV is already near the given limit.
Unfortunately, the results of these standardized calculations are often up to 7 times higher than conducted measurements on pipelines,
despite using state of the art calculation parameters. Research on this
discrepancy is needed to bring calculations and measurement data
closer together to avoid excessive measures.

24 PIPELINE TECHNOLOGY JOURNAL

RESEARCH / DEVELOPMENT / TECHNOLOGY

Inductive interference on pipelines

The parameters in this network model represent the longitudinal
impedance (RL, LL), which stands for the pipeline material characteristics and the shunt admittance (CQ, RQ), which is a combination of the pipeline coating value, ambience soil resistivity, reduction conductors and reducing earthing systems. The PIV alongside
the pipeline can be calculated with the node admittance matrix [4].

Inductive coupling appears when a magnetic field between an interfered buried isolated metallic pipeline system and an interfering
HVES exists. The inductive coupling impedances z_gkL are affected
by all of the below-described parameters and can be calculated with
e.g. the formula of Dubanton [3].
These HVES parameters are load current or phase conductor arrangement as well as pipeline parameters such as the pipeline diameter, material or coating. Another parameter is the ambience soil
resistivity which varies within a large spectrum. The final important
parameter is the influence of several known and unknown grounded
conductors, located near influenced or influencing systems. These
conductors produce a voltage reduction on the induced pipeline and
can be e.g. the PEN conductor of low voltage power lines, metal rails
and compensation conductors of AC traction power supplies, conducting pipelines, foundation earth electrodes and global earthing
systems.

Different possible impact factors on pipeline voltages

The following factors are suspected of having different degrees of
impact on the induced voltages and the discrepancy between calculated and measured PIVs and has to be considered individually and
in combination with each other:

The induced voltage Ui can be calculated by formula (1).

If all currents and inductive coupling impedances zgkL for one segment l are known, the induced voltage Ui can be calculated for a segment. Segmenting is needed because the geographical closeness
and other parameters are not constant over the whole interfering distance and therefore the value of zgkL is always changing see Figure 1.
Also, other segments are not influenced as shown in Figure 1. When
all induced voltages Ui have been determined, the induced PIV over
the whole interfering distance is calculated with the lattice network
model. As a requirement for using this model, all parameters must be
(approximately) homogenous within one segment.

Lattice network modell

for the pipeline
RL
LL

RL

Reduction effect of global earthing systems

Reduction effect of practically achievable pipeline earthing

systems

Reduction effect of pipelines, running in parallel

Reduction effect of parallel high voltage power systems

with grounding conductors

Reduction effect of local earthing systems

Incorrect or inadequate pipeline coating parameter

The influence of the model-conform specific soil resistivity

Ik

Induced
voltage
LL Ui1

ZgkL1

RL

LL

Induced
voltage
Ui2

Interfered area
Segment 2

Interfered area
Segment 3

Distance of
parallel route l1

Distance of
parallel route l2

ZgkL2

U4

2 RQ

CQ /2

CQ /2

2 RQ

U3

2 RQ

CQ /2

CQ /2

U2

2 RQ

Earth Not interfered area

Segment 1

Load current instead of using the maximum operational currents

Ik

2 RQ

CQ /2

CQ /2

2 RQ

U1

Ik: High voltage energy system with interfering currents

U1...4: Pipeline interference voltage alongside the pipeline
Ui1...i2: Induced voltage
ZgkL1...2: Inductive coupling impedance
Figure 1: Pipeline subdivided into segments because of changing parameters

PIPELINE TECHNOLOGY JOURNAL 25

RESEARCH / DEVELOPMENT / TECHNOLOGY

Impact of the load current

Possible voltage reduction effect of GESs, HVESs

and pipelines - Global earthing systems (GESs)

As stated above, the value of the load current is a direct proportionality

factor in the voltage calculation formula (1). Normally it is common practice to use the maximum operational currents in order to cover worst
case scenarios for touch voltages or, depending on the type of the influencing system, 60 to 95 percent of this maximum load current for AC
corrosion.

In short, GESs consist of connected foundation electrodes and other

conductive material buried in the soil within a (sub-) urban area. This
connection can be realised intentionally or unintentionally either directly via conductive materials or in the common sense via the electric flow
field. If an HVES is located near a pipeline and a GES, a configuration
arises as depicted in Figure 3.

In reality, these operational currents rarely occur. For the comparison of

a one week lasting measurement and its associated calculations on the
same pipeline locations it is indispensable to use the correct actually
used load currents to get comparable results. The difference between
such currents and maximum operational currents is illustrated for an
overhead line and a railroad system in Figure 2 [5].

Current in Ampere
2400
2200
2000
1800
1600
1400
1200
1000
800
600
400
200
0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

Time in Hours
Maximum operational current
Railroad, actually used load currents

Overhead Line, actually used load currents

Figure 2: Difference between maximum operational currents and load currents for overhead lines

High voltage
overhead line
Earth wire
current Iew
Current I

Buried isolated metallic

pipeline in 1 m depth
Induced
current Ipipe

Inductive
coupling Z

Part of the GES

current Iearth
Foundation electrode
from a house in 1 m
depth

Zearth
Zpipe

Zpe

1m
depth

Soil
Ypipe
Ohmic
coupling Y

GES of a (sub-)urban area

Ype
Yearth

Figure 3: The complex interference and reduction situation between high voltage power line, GES and pipeline system

26 PIPELINE TECHNOLOGY JOURNAL

RESEARCH / DEVELOPMENT / TECHNOLOGY

In these cases, pipeline and GES are more or less parallel metallic
conductors due to their similar conductive material. The inductive
coupling impedances zgkl. from the energy system turn into a parallel connection of the pipeline coupling zpipe. and the GES coupling
zearth. Consequently, the coupling impedance to the pipeline is reduced with the effect of a lower PIV. Thus, GESs have a reduction
effect. How great it is depends on the expansion, grid structure as
well as the material- and soil-conductivity. As a result of the inductive coupling, the pipeline voltage Ui is induced with consideration of
this reduction effect. This leads to the currents Ipipe and Iearth . These
currents result in an additional inductive coupling zpe., additionally
increasing or reducing the current Ipipe and thus the PIV [5].
The following calculation example shows the impact of such interference between an HVES, a pipeline and three differently sized GESs.
GES 1 and 2 represents a village with a low and GES 3 a small city with
a medium density of conducting grounded material. The size and the
amount of buried conducted metal leads to an accordingly high voltage reduction effect. Also, the general geographical alignment, e.g.
distance between the systems or position along the pipeline, is important.
As depicted in Figure 4 the PIV calculation shows different reduction
effects from the differently sized GESs. Since GES 1 (red line) and 3
(purple line) have a similar reduction effect, it can be seen that the
geographical alignment is important. GES 1 is in the middle of the
pipeline and the reduction effect evenly distributed over the entire
PIV. Because GES 3 lies on the end of the pipeline, it has a notable
PIV reduction effect especially in this area. Due to of the bigger size
of the GES 2 (green line), a remarkable voltage reduction effect can
be seen which shows that GESs has to be considered in calculations.

other pipelines
Because of bundled energy routes, transport pipelines are built near
other pipelines. Therefore two or more pipelines can run parallel over
a long distance. If an HVES is located near a configuration with two
pipelines, a setup appears as can be seen in Figure 5 and two interference effects have to be noted.
The first effect is due to the inductive coupling between the HV power
line and the pipeline causing currents in both pipelines. Depending
on the current flow direction, the current Ipipe2 can increase or reduce
the current Ipipe1 and vice versa. Figure 5 shows an example, where
both currents flow in the same direction.
The second effect is based on the fact that the second pipeline (blue)
works as a reduction conductor (see Chapter 2.2.1) on the regarding
pipeline (red). This means that both factors have to be considered to
be able to state whether the pipeline current and interference voltage
is increased or reduced.
Figure 6 illustrate how this reduction or increasing factor from a parallel pipeline works. It shows three different calculations which depict
the influence of the current directions on the regarding PIV. The blue
line shows the calculation of the PIV of the regarding pipeline without any other parallel pipeline; the other two lines already include the
parallel pipeline reduction effect. This shows that when both pipeline
currents flow in the same direction, the regarding pipeline current and
therefore, the PIV, are increased (green line). Furthermore, it is clearly
shown that a reduction effect is present when the currents flow in
opposite directions (red line).

Pipeline Voltage in Volt

25
20
15
10
5
0

0,5

1,5

Pipeline distance in km

Pipeline without GES interference

Pipeline with GES 2 interference

2,5

Pipeline with GES 1 interference

Pipeline with GES 3 interference

Figure 4: PIV reduction effect from differently sized GESs

3,5

PIPELINE TECHNOLOGY JOURNAL 27

RESEARCH / DEVELOPMENT / TECHNOLOGY

High voltage
overhead line
Earth wire
current Iew
Current I

Buried isolated metallic

pipeline in 1 m depth

Zpp

Zpipe2

Induced
current Ipipe2

Inductive
coupling Z
Zpipe1
Induced
current Ipipe1
1m
depth

Soil

Ypp

Ypipe1
Ypipe2

Ohmic
coupling Y

Figure 5: The complex interference and reduction situation

between high voltage power line and two pipeline systems

Pipeline Voltage in Volt

30
25
20
15
10
5
0

0,5

1,5

Pipeline distance in km

Pipeline voltage without any other pipeline

Pipeline with amplifing effect of parallel pipeline

2,5

3,5

Pipeline with reduction effect of parallel pipeline

Figure 6: PIV with a second parallel pipeline

28 PIPELINE TECHNOLOGY JOURNAL

RESEARCH / DEVELOPMENT / TECHNOLOGY

Parallel high voltage energy systems

Incorrect or inadequate pipeline coating parameter

Especially, high voltage power lines but also railway systems are bundled on energy routes and therefore often have a long parallel routing. This leads to potentially high inductive interference. Besides the
geographical alignment and HVES parameters, the load flow current
situation is crucial. In case of the same load flow current in parallel
HVESs, the pipeline inductive interference voltage rises dramatically.
If the load currents flow in different directions, the PIV is massively lower. The overall load flow situation should always be reviewed
when comparing measurement data with calculation results.

It is generally known that the pipeline coating is crucial to avoid material corrosion. It is problematic that the value of the coating resistance can vary within a wide range. On the one hand, the material has
been changed from bitumen with a low value (1 Mm) to polyethylene with a high value (100 Mm). One the other hand, with time, the
resistance value can fall to 10 km (bitumen) or 50 km (polyethylene) due to coating holidays. To summarise, with a lower coating
resistance value, a lower PIV can be expected which one should bear
in mind when comparing measurements and calculations [6].

Local earthing systems

Varying the specific soil resistivity

Local earthing systems are conducted materials, e.g. connecting water pipelines or earthed cable shields, buried in the soil. They are difficult to detect and usually not considered in calculations but can still
act as reduction systems in the vicinity of HVESs and pipelines. This
can lead to unexplainable reduced PIVs since the physical effects
and the calculations are very similar to the above-mentioned cases.

The soil resistivity has a very strong influence on the PIV (as is shown
in the paper of 2014 [6]). In areas with lower values, lower PIVs can be
expected. However, weather and time of the year also influence the
soil resistivity, changing the soil moisture and the soil temperature.
The soil resistivity is lower when the soil moisture is high (e.g. due to
high precipitation) and/or the soil temperature is high (e.g. during the
summer). Therefore it is difficult to find the correct value of the soil
resistivity along a pipeline.

Ohmic-inductive coupling
An ohmic coupling Y exists between all interfered and interfering
systems due to their earthing systems. In normal and fault operation
conditions of HVESs, earth currents can flow through their earthing
systems (e.g. pylons or transformer stations) into their ambience soil
and, in the vicinity of a GES, pipeline or other conductive material,
they can catch these currents and spread them to other regions. This
results in a higher Iearth component with the effect of a higher influence on the current Ipipe and the resulting PIV.

Generally, the specific soil resistivity ranges between 25 m and

10000 m. Based on this wide range of values and the fragmenting
of the different types of soil, the value for the representative respective ambient soil resistivity along the pipeline can be very diverse.
Considering this variation is essential, both for calculations and
measurements. Especially where measurements are conducted a detailed soil analysis is indispensable.

Pipeline Voltage in Volt

5
4,5
4
3,5
3
2,5
2
1,5
1
0,5
0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

Time in Hours

Calculation without reduction factors

Measurement

Figure 7: PIV calculation versus measurement, location 1, perfect example

Practical results
The following figures show different examples of calculations using
the actually used load currents and comparing them to measurements during a measurement period of 140 to 160 hours at different
pipeline locations. Figure 7 shows a nearly identical voltage characteristic between measurement and calculation since the model parameters reflect the real conditions very well.

The calculations in Figures 8 and 9 (which represent two different

locations) without reduction effects show results higher by a factor
of up to 7, compared to calculations considering conductive material
nearby. These two figures show an intense voltage reduction, based
on the geographical closeness of two different things: in location 2,
another pipeline in combination with the reduction factor of two parallel high voltage overhead lines and in location 3, a rural area with a
well-developed and extended GES.

PIPELINE TECHNOLOGY JOURNAL 29

RESEARCH / DEVELOPMENT / TECHNOLOGY

Pipeline Voltage in Volt

9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

Time in Hours

Calculation without reduction factors

Calculation with reduction factors

Measurement

Figure 8: PIV calculation versus measurement, location 2, HVES

Pipeline Voltage in Volt

20
18
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

Time in Hours

Calculation without reduction factors

Calculation with reduction factors

Figure 9: PIV calculation versus measurement, location 3, railway

Figures 10 and 11 show a combination of two reduction effects: the voltage reduction effect due to a parallel pipeline and also a voltage shift
due to inadequate soil resistivity. Apart from the reduction effect, in location 4 the specific soil resistivity was essentially lower than expected
while in location 5, the value was higher. Figure 10 because the calculation result is massively lower than before while in Figure 11, the average
value is still remaining on the same level with consideration of the parallel pipeline reduction effect.

Measurement

30 PIPELINE TECHNOLOGY JOURNAL

RESEARCH / DEVELOPMENT / TECHNOLOGY

Pipeline Voltage in Volt

4
3,5
3
2,5
2
1,5
1
0,5
0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

Time in Hours

Calculation without reduction factors

Calculation with reduction factors

Measurement

Figure 10: PIV calculation versus measurement, location 4, parallel pipeline with low soil resistivity

Pipeline Voltage in Volt

14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

Time in Hours

Calculation without reduction factors

Calculation with reduction factors

Measurement

Figure 11: PIV calculation versus measurement, location 5, parallel pipeline with high soil resistivity

References
EN 50443:2012, Effects of electromagnetic interference on pipelines caused by high voltage a.c. electric traction systems and/or
high voltage a.c. power supply systems, CENELEC, Brussels
EN 15280:2013, Evaluation of a.c. corrosion likelihood of buried pipelines applicable to cathodically protected pipelines, CENELEC,
Brussels
C. Dubanton, 1970, Calcul approche des parameters primaires et secondaires dune ligne detransport. Valeurs homopolaires,
CIGRE
E. Schmautzer, 1991, Ein Beitrag zur Berechnung der niederfrequenten induktiven Beeinflussung von Rohrleitungsnetzen, Dissertation, Graz University of Technology, Graz, Austria
C. Wahl, 2015, Impact of Global Earthing Systems on the Inductive Interference on Buried Isolated Metallic Pipelines, 23nd International Conference on Electricity Distribution, Lyon, France
C. Wahl, 2014, Impact of High Voltage Overhead Lines on Pipeline Security, 9th Pipeline Technology Conference, Berlin, Germany

PIPELINE TECHNOLOGY JOURNAL 31

RESEARCH / DEVELOPMENT / TECHNOLOGY

Summary
Even if calculations are done very carefully with established and generally agreed calculation methods, conducted measurements show mostly lower voltage levels than the calculated ones for the same pipelines
and pipeline locations. With the consideration of the reduction or even
increasing effects presented in this paper, most of the discrepancies
between measurement and calculation can be explained when all important parameters are known.
Knowledge of the correct specific soil resistivity and pipeline coating
resistance is a precondition since both parameters can influence the
PIV in the measuring position. The value of the load currents during the
measurement period must be known, as it is essential to correctly interpret the measurement data. Much more complicated are conducted materials within the interference area because they can act as a reduction
factor, decreasing PIVs. They can also produce influencing voltages and
in an unfavourable case, may even increase PIVs too.
The examples show that with consideration of all presented effects,
most of the conducted measurements can be explained and even better, they can help to calibrate the calculation. With this research it is possible to reduce or avoid unnecessary measures while necessary actions,
e.g. AC earthing systems or special safety working methods along the
pipeline, can be used more effectively and efficiently.

Authors
Christian Wahl
Graz University of Technology
Institute of Electrical
Power Systems
Graz, Austria
[email protected]

Ernst Schmautzer
Graz University of Technology
Institute of Electrical
Power Systems
Graz, Austria
[email protected]

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32 PIPELINE TECHNOLOGY JOURNAL

RESEARCH / DEVELOPMENT / TECHNOLOGY

buried
steel
SEISMIC ANALYSIS OF BURIED STEEL PIPELINE SUBJECTED
TO GROUND DEFORMATION WITH EMPHASIS ON THE
NUMERICAL MODELLING OPTIMIZATION

> by: Gersena Banushi, Technische Universitt Braunschweig, Germany and Universit di Firenze, Italy

PIPELINE TECHNOLOGY JOURNAL 33

RESEARCH / DEVELOPMENT / TECHNOLOGY

Abstract
Steel pipeline systems traverse large geographical areas characterized
by a wide variety of soil conditions and environmental hazards such as
earthquakes which can threaten the pipeline integrity undergoing large
deformations associated with widespread yielding, leading to fracture
with consequent material leakage.
Buried pipelines installed in seismic regions are susceptible to the effects of transient ground deformation (TGD) due to seismic wave propagation and permanent ground deformation (PGD) resulting from earthquake induced soil liquefaction, surface faulting and landslides [1].
Post-earthquake investigations have shown that almost all seismic
damages to buried pipelines were due to permanent ground deformation and there were very few reported cases of pipelines damaged only
by wave propagation [2].
In fact, buried pipelines are primarily affected by large permanent
ground deformations (PGD) which may produce pipe wall rupture due
to excessive tension as well as buckling by either excessive imposed
bending or uniaxial compression loading.
Therefore it is necessary to perform accurate finite element analysis
taking into account the nonlinear soil and pipe interaction as well as the
constitutive behavior of the pipe material subjected to extreme seismic
loading.
At the state of art, detailed finite element analysis of the soil-pipeline
system subjected to large ground deformations are computationally
expensive resulting in extremely large numerical models that may require days to run using the normally available computational resources
[3]. Within the present work, in order to reduce the needed memory and
computation time of the calculator, the part of the soil-pipe system away
from the fault is suitably modeled as a single equivalent axial spring,
connected to the pipe shell elements through appropriate constraints.
Furthermore, the seismic performance of the buried pipeline has been
investigated through a series of parametric studies that permit to assess the structural response of the pipe components in function of various configurations of the soil-pipeline system. The obtained numerical
analysis results allow to evaluate accurately the limit ground displacement inducing global failure on the pipeline components due to loss of
strength capacity following large scale seismic loading, with the advantage of being computationally efficient.

Post-earthquake investigations have shown that almost

all seismic damages to buried
pipelines were due to permanent ground deformation
> Gersena Banushi

ptc-postershow
This paper will be presented during the
Scientific Advances Poster Session at
10th Pipeline Technology Conference

34 PIPELINE TECHNOLOGY JOURNAL

RESEARCH / DEVELOPMENT / TECHNOLOGY

Numerical modeling

Calibration of the equivalent boundary spring.

Within the present study the seismic performance of a straight 36 x

9.53 mm X65 steel grade pipeline subjected to strike-slip faulting has
been assessed through accurate finite element analysis taking into
account the nonlinearities of the pipe-soil system, with emphasis on
identifying the pipeline structural failure.

Observing that the relative transverse displacement between the soil

and the pipe segment away from the fault trace is negligible, this part
is suitably modelled as a single equivalent axial spring connected to
the pipe shell elements through appropriate constraints, assuring the
deformation continuity of the system, as schematically illustrated in
the figure 2. The force displacement relationship of the equivalent
axial spring is obtained analytically taking into account the axial constitutive behaviour of the pipeline as well as of the axial soil-pipeline
interaction. The latter is obtained by subjecting the pipeline statically
to a uniform axial displacement, after establishing the initial geostatic stress-strain state in the system, as schematically illustrated in the
figure 3.

The buried steel pipeline is modeled a cylindrical shell using fournode reduced integration shell elements (S4R) available in ABAQUS
(2014) [4] which account for finite membrane strains and arbitrarily
large rotations, resulting suitable for large strain analysis. The soil
surrounding the pipeline is discretized through eight-node linear
brick continuum elements with reduced integration (C3D8R). The
steel pipe material model is defined within the von Mises plasticity theory with nonlinear hardening. Instead, the soil material is described within the MohrCoulomb constitutive model, characterized
by different parameters, like the cohesion, the friction and dilatation
angle, the elastic modulus E, and Poissons ratio v, as indicated in the
table 1. The soil-pipeline interaction is assumed as frictional allowing
for sliding and separation at the soil-pipe interface.

The obtained axial spring constitutive behavior is subsequently implemented in ABAQUS [4] finite element software for the numerical
analysis purposes. This modeling procedure permits to largely reduce
the memory and computation time of the calculator, compared to the
one where the entire length of the pipeline is modelled with nonlinear
shell elements and the surrounding soil with solid elements.

As schematically illustrated in the figure 1, the vertical plane containing the fault trace divides the soil in two equal antisymmetric parts.
The fault movement is applied as a horizontal displacement of the
lateral external faces of the moving soil part whereas the lateral external faces of the fixed part are restrained in the horizontal direction.
Instead the faces of the bottom boundary of both soil parts are restrained to move in the vertical direction.
Moreover, it is noted that each of the ends of the shell pipeline is
connected through appropriate constraints to an equivalent boundary spring, which represent the reaction of the part of the soil-pipeline system away from the fault to the pipeline displacement, as described in detail in the following paragraph.
The mesh of both the soil and pipeline components is refined in the
central region, close to the fault trace, in order to better capture the
large deformation behaviour of the system.

Figure 1. Schematic representation of the soil pipeline system

subjected to strike-slip faulting.

The numerical simulations for assessing the pipeline performance

subjected to strike-slip fault movement are conducted in two steps.
At first, a geostatic analysis is performed to establish the initial stress
and strain state of the soil-pipeline system, which equilibrates the
gravity loading and satisfies the boundary conditions. In the second
step, a uniform horizontal displacement is applied at the lateral external faces of the moving soil part and the free end of the corresponding equivalent boundary spring, whereas the lateral external faces of
the fixed soil part, as well as the free end of the corresponding equivalent boundary spring remain restrained in the horizontal direction.

Clay Soil
Soil Cohesion
Friction angle o
Youngs Modulus E
Poisssons ratio v
Soil density y

50 kPa
0
25 mPa
0.48
20 kN/m3

Figure 2. Schematic representation of the equivalentboundary spring model

Table 1. Mechanical characteristics of the soil analysed.

PIPELINE TECHNOLOGY JOURNAL 35

RESEARCH / DEVELOPMENT / TECHNOLOGY

Figure 3. Schematic representation of the procedure for determining the soil reaction to the pipeline movement in the axial direction.

Considering the axial constitutive behaviour of the pipeline, as well as

the axial soil-pipeline interaction, as schematically illustrated in the figure 4, the relationship between the equivalent spring axial force F and its
elongation L is expressed by the following formula:
0

where , are the i-th strain and stress value respectively defining the
steel pipeline material constitutive relationship, A is the cross section
area of the pipe, Fi=A is axial force in the pipe corresponding to an
axial stress equal to , Ei=( - -1)/( - -1) is the slope of the i-th segment defining the pipe multi-linear stress-strain relationship and i is
the pipeline elongation corresponding to the axial force Fi. In particular,
E1 and 1 are respectively the elastic stiffness of the steel pipeline and
its yield stress.
Instead, fs is the maximum soil friction force per unit length of the pipeline, u0 the relative displacement between the soil and the pipeline when
sliding occurs, k=fs/u0 is the rigidity of friction interaction at the soil
pipeline interface and F0 is the force in the buried pipeline when sliding
occurs at the soil-pipe interface, as schematically illustrated in the figure 5.

Figure 4. Schematic representation of the axial constitutive

behaviour of the: a) Steel Pipeline; b) Pipe-Soil Interaction

Figure 5. Schematic representation of the axial forces and

elongations acting in the pipeline segment away from the fault.

Moreover, it is observed that in the case where the pipeline ends connected to the equivalent-boundary spring remain in the elastic range
(i=1, F<F1), the expression (1) is similar to the approximated formula proposed by Liu et al. [5].
In the figure 6 is illustrated the relationship between the elongation L
and the axial force F for the equivalent-axial spring corresponding to
the clay soil conditions and pipeline characteristics considered in the
present study, calculated using the expression (1).

36 PIPELINE TECHNOLOGY JOURNAL

RESEARCH / DEVELOPMENT / TECHNOLOGY

Figure 6. Relationship between F and L for the equivalent-boundary springs corresponding to the soil condition considered,
calculated using the formula (1).

Analysis Results
Similarly to the procedure followed within recent European Research
Projects [6, 7] three principal modes of structural failure are considered for evaluating the pipeline seismic performance:
1.

Tensile strain limit of 3%, as indicated in the Eurocode 8 - Part 4

[8] which can lead to consequent rupture of the pipe wall due
to loss of strength capacity in the pipe material.

2.

Local buckling of the pipeline caused by an abrupt increase

of compressive strains at the compressive side of the pipe cross
section.

3.

Excessive ovalization of the pipeline cross section. Following

the indications contained in Gresnigt, 1986 [9], the critical ovalization parameter, intended as the ratio of the minimum pipe
diameter to its initial diameter, is assumed equal to 15%.

The variation of the plastic axial strain at the most stressed generator of the pipe wall, in the case of pipeline oriented perpendicularly
to the fault trace (=0o), for different values of fault displacement f
is indicated in the figure 7. It can be observed that the onset of local buckling occurs for a fault displacement equal to 41 cm, at a distance of about 4.3 m away from the fault trace, where the maximum
compressive plastic strain in the pipeline reaches 0.45%. Beyond this
plastic deformation region, the pipeline remains essentially elastic.
In the figure 8 are illustrated the displacement contours for the pipeline and the fixed part of the soil close to the fault trace where the
onset of local buckling occurs, whereas in the figure 9 is illustrated
the evolution of the deformed shape of the pipeline and axial strain
contour at the region of local buckling for different values of the fault
displacement f.
In the case of the fault trace forming a negative angle =-10 with the
normal to the pipeline axis, the onset of local buckling is observed
earlier, for a fault displacement value equal to 23 cm, at a distance of
about 3.75 m away from the fault, as illustrated in the figure 10.

Instead for positive values of the angle formed by the fault trace
with the normal to the pipeline axis, the predominant limit state is the
elevated section deformation. It is observed that the 15% performance
limit of section ovalization is reached in the pipeline for values of the
fault displacement varying from 85 cm to 1.09 cm, in function of the
inclination angle . As schematically illustrated in the figure 11, the
excessive section ovalization region in the pipeline is localized close
to the fault trace which is also the area where maximum pipe axial
forces occur.
Conclusions.
In order to evaluate the seismic performance of a buried pipeline subjected to strike-slip faulting, a detailed numerical procedure has been
adopted that considers the pipe-soil system as a three dimensional
continuum model, accounting for contact and friction interaction at
the soil-pipe interface.
Being the continuum modelling computationally expensive, the region of the pipe soil system away from the fault is modelled as a
single equivalent axial spring connected to the pipe shell elements
through appropriate constraints. The force displacement relationship
of the equivalent axial spring is obtained analytically taking into account the axial constitutive behaviour of the pipeline as well as the
axial soil-pipeline interaction. The obtained axial spring constitutive
behavior is subsequently implemented in ABAQUS finite element
software [4] for the numerical analysis purposes. This modeling procedure permits to largely reduce the needed memory and computation time of the calculator, compared to the one where the entire
length of the pipeline is modelled with nonlinear shell elements, and
the surrounding soil with solid elements.

PIPELINE TECHNOLOGY JOURNAL 37

RESEARCH / DEVELOPMENT / TECHNOLOGY

Figure 7. Variation of the plastic axial strain at the most stressed generator of the pipeline wall
for different values of fault displacement, in case of =0

Figure 8. Displacement contours for the fixed soil part (=0) close to the fault trace
where the onset of local buckling occurs.

Figure 9. Evolution of the plastic axial strain contour and deformed shape of pipeline at the region of local
buckling for different values of the fault displacement f, in the case of =0.

38 PIPELINE TECHNOLOGY JOURNAL

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Figure 10.
Deformed shaped and localization of local buckling for the case of fault trace inclined at an angle = -10
with respect to the pipeline normal, and a fault displacement value f=23cm.

Figure 11. Deformed shape with indicated the localization of excessive

section localisation close to the fault trace, in the case of = 40

Author
References

Gersena Banushi
PhD Student
Technische Universitt
Braunschweig, Germany &
Universit di Firence, Italy
[email protected]

[1] S.T. Barbas and M.S. Weir, Strain-based design methodology for seismic and arctic regions, ISOPE-2007-SBD, pp.
30733080, 2007.
[2] M. ORourke and X. Liu, Response of buried pipelines subject to earthquake effects, Multidisciplinary Center for
Earthquake Engineering Research, SUNY-Buffalo, New York, 1999.
[3] C-CORE, Honegger D.G, and SSD, Inc, 2009, Guidelines for constructing natural gas and liquid hydrocarbon pipelines
through areas prone to landslide and subsidence hazards, Final Report prepared for Design, Materials, and Construction
Committee of Pipeline Research Council International, Inc.
[4] ABAQUS Analysis Users Guide, Simulia, Providence, RI, USA, 2014.
[5] Liu A., Hu Y., Zhao F., Li X., Takada S., Zhao L., 2004, An equivalent-boundary method for the shell analysis of buried
pipelines under fault movement, Acta Seismologica Sinica,Vol. 17, pp. 150156.
[6] Karamanos, S., Demofonti, G., Tsatsis, A.,Lucci, A., Dijkstra, G., Gazetas, G., Sarvanis, G.,Anastasopoulos, I., Ferino, J.,
Es, S.v., Gresnigt, N.,Dakoulas, P.,Vazouras, P., Huinen, W., 2013, Safety of Buried Steel Pipelines Under Ground-Induced
Deformations (GIPIPE), Annual Report RFSR-CT-2011-00027 Project.
[7] Fernandes A. A., De Jesus A., Jorge R. N., Coppola T., Van Wittenberghe J., Martinez X., Oller S., Karamanos S. A., Schaffrath S., Eichler B., Novokshanov D., Banushi G., Morelli F., Salvatore W., Nonn A., Erdelen-Peppler M., Pires F., Seabra M.,
Thibaux P., 2014, Ultra low cycle fatigue of steel under high-strain loading conditions, Annual Report RFSR-CT-2011-00029
Project.
[8] Eurocode 8, 2006, Design of structures for earthquake resistance - Part 4: Silos, tanks and pipelines, EN 1998-4.
[9] Gresnigt, A.M., 1986, Plastic Design of Buried Pipelines in Settlement Areas, HERON, Vol. 31, No. 4.

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40 PIPELINE TECHNOLOGY JOURNAL

RESEARCH / DEVELOPMENT / TECHNOLOGY

Grand theft

Pipeline

Finite element simulation of guided waves

to detect product theft from pipelines
> by: Salisu El-Hussein, University of Aberdeen, UK / Dr. John Harrigan, Amec Foster Wheeler, UK / Dr. Andrew Starkey, University of Aberdeen, UK

ptc-postershow
This paper will be presented during the
Scientific Advances Poster Session at
10th Pipeline Technology Conference

PIPELINE TECHNOLOGY JOURNAL 41

RESEARCH / DEVELOPMENT / TECHNOLOGY

Abstract

Product theft (hot tap) and intentional attack (vandalism) are among the
major causes of reported pipeline failures. The existing pipeline inspection techniques are mainly reactive measures to detect damage/defect.
Guided waves (GWs) have potential for the real time structural health
monitoring (SHM) of pipelines and other structures. GW offers the advantages of long range examination of a structure and rapid detection
of damage. As an example stress waves generated through physical attack on a pipeline propagate in the form of GWs. These signals can be
detected to provide information about the source and location of the
interference. Deliberately excited GWs can be used to detect the presence of additional features such as small branch introduced to initiate a
product theft. Finite element (FE) analysis is conducted on a 12 in (305
mm) diameter steel pipe with 12 mm wall thickness to investigate the
potential of longitudinal L(0,1) and torsional T(0,1) GW modes for long
distance propagation. The results show that a low frequency tone burst
excitation modified by a Hanning window produces a GW with low attenuation and dispersion. For example, at 2.5 kHz centre frequency, the
attenuation coefficient is 0.00034 m-1. At this attenuation, the signal
would theoretically retain more than 10 % of its original energy after a
propagation distance of 8 km. The sensitivity of GW at this frequency
was tested with detection of 2 in (50 mm) branch pipe attached along
the 12 in pipeline.

Figure 1 Illustration of guided waves generated by (i) an active

transducer; (ii) external interference

Introduction and background

in the area of third party

related damages, costeffective pipeline monitoring is still required
> Salisu El-Hussein, Dr. John Harrigan; Dr. Andrew Starkey

Third party activities constitute about 60 per cent of the reported

pipeline failures [1]. Intentional pipeline damage and oil theft are also
sources of concern even in developed countries like United States
[2], United Kingdom [3] and more especially developing countries like
Nigeria [4]. In Nigeria for example, a total of 15,796 cases of pipeline
vandalism was recorded between 2000 and 2010. These resulted in
estimated 2,800 fatalities, $1.2bn cost of repairs and daily revenue loss
to the government of $10.4 million [5]. The damages to the environment and ecosystem are unquantifiable in monetary value. There are
many pipeline inspection and monitoring techniques in the literature. However, in the area of third party related damages, cost-effective pipeline monitoring is still required. At selected frequencies, GWs have the potential to meet this requirement. The stress
waves generated during physical attack on a pipeline can provide
a signal that is transmitted along the pipeline. Fig. 1 illustrates the
stress waves generated either deliberately by a transducer or accidentally as a result of an attack on a pipeline. For an attack on
the line, the signal generated can be detected to serve as an early
warning for the occurrence of vandalism/theft. Alternatively, a GW can
be generated deliberately for inspection of the line. The difficulties
associated with interpreting signals recorded at a remote location
are associated with: energy dissipation; dispersion; and formation
of multiple GW modes.

42 PIPELINE TECHNOLOGY JOURNAL

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Existing Pipeline Inspection and

Monitoring Techniques
There are many pipeline inspection and monitoring techniques in the literature. They range
from visual inspection, wireless sensor networks
(WSN) to fibre optic, acoustic, electromagnetic,
ultrasonic methods and magnetic flux leakage
(MFL). The last two are the most common pipeline
inspection and monitoring techniques [6]. Most
of these techniques are reactive in nature or require point-to-point transducer movement. In addition, WSN and fibre optic methods are difficult
to retrofit. Table 1 summarises the advantages and
disadvantages of common pipeline monitoring
techniques.
Basic Guided Wave Theory

Methods

Advantages

Disadvantages

Visual Inspection

- Effective in a relativley
small area

- Labour intensive
- Accessability limitation

Electromagnetic method

- Cost-effective in surface
and near surface defects

- Requires probe movement

Acoustic emission method

- can operate in passive

and active modes

- High cost of sensors

- Requires densely spaced
sensors

Fibre optic method

- Sensitivity along the

entire length
- Dual function of
communication and
monitoring

- Susceptible to damage during

installation
- High installation cost

Wireless sensor network

- Little inteference with

structure operation

- Large multi-hop network

required

Ultrasonic methods

- Good sensitivity to the

presence of defects

- Requires probe movement

- In-Service Monitoring
- Long distance coverage
- Cost effectiveness

- Multiple modes formation

- Complicated signal processing

GW forms as a result of superposition of longitudinal and shear waves reflecting between structural
Guides waves
boundaries. The possible constructive interferences which result from these reflections represent
the number of GW modes which will propagate
along the length of the waveguide. Unlike longitudinal and shear bulk
waves, their velocity is not only dependent on the material properties
but also on the thickness of the material and the wave frequency.
GWs experience energy leakage when in contact with a surrounding
medium (e.g. soil) or internal fluid. Cylindrical waveguides (e.g. pipes)
support 3 modes of GW vibrations: longitudinal, torsional and flexural. According to the convention by Silk and Bainton [7] they are
labelled as L(0,m), T(0,m) and F(n,m) for longitudinal, torsional and
flexural modes respectively. The letter n represents the harmonic
order of the circumferential variation within the wall thickness while
m describes the sequential number of modes of the same family.
For example, L(0,1) is the first longitudinal wave mode to exist with
zero cycles of particles displacement variation around the circumference. GWs in cylindrical structures are governed by Naviers equation,
which in vector form can be seen below [8]:

2u
.t 2

= ( + 2 )(.u ) + ( u )

where u represents displacement, and are Lams constants, is

the 3-dimensional differential operator / x + / y + / z
and p is the material density. For detailed derivation of GW equations, the reader is referred to reference [8].

N1

Table 1 Comparison of common pipeline inspection

and monitoring techniques

Guided Wave Structural Health Monitoring

SHM is a technique employed for the maintenance of large structures such as rail-track and pipeline networks. SHM seeks to replace
scheduled maintenance with condition based maintenance. In passive mode, SHM consists of measuring the operational parameters of
a structure and indirectly assessing its state. Acoustic emission and
thermal sensors are commonly used in passive SHM. Active SHM
assessed the structure directly in order to detect the presence of
defects. Permanent sensors and relevant monitoring techniques are
used to provide information on the state of the structure. Resonant
frequency measurements, WSN and GW sensors are commonly used
for active SHM. T(0,1) and L(0,1) are the common GW modes used in
NDT for defect detection. The T(0,1) mode has the advantage of being
more sensitive to longitudinal defects while L(0,1) has more potential for long distance propagation. In most SHM techniques, there is
a trade-off between resolution and spatial coverage. GWs combine
long distance propagation with a good resolution for defect location
and identification [9]. Due to these advantages, many studies have
been carried out on the inspection of pipes and other structures using GWs.

N2

Pipe

N3

0.305m

25m

25m

25m

Figure 2: Configuration of model pipe showing nodal locations

25m

PIPELINE TECHNOLOGY JOURNAL 43

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Finite element simulation of guided waves

The mathematical solution of GW has been obtained for
simple geometries such as a circular cylinder [9]. For complicated geometries no mathematical solution is available.
Numerical modelling such as boundary element and FE
are used for the analysis of complicated geometries. FE
analysis has been successfully employed as a tool for GW
propagation analysis in plates and pipes [10]. The use of FE
modelling can provide the required understanding of stress
waves propagating along a pipeline for application against
product theft and vandalism.
FE Model
The model was generated with ABAQUS/explicit version
6.12. The simulation was conducted on a 12 in (305 mm)
outer diameter, 12 mm wall thickness and 100 m long pipe.
Fig. 2 shows the configuration of the model pipe and three nodal locations (N1, N2 and N3) defined along the pipe. The pipe material was
made from mild steel with a Young modulus E = 209 GPa, Poissons
ratio v = 0.3 and density p = 7850 kgm-3. A 3-dimensional linear brick, 8
node solid elements with reduced integration (C3D8R) was chosen for
this analysis. A sweep meshing technique was adopted with a 24 mm
mesh size in the longitudinal direction. ABAQUS automatic time step
(t) which stabilised at 0.676 s was adopted and was sufficient to avoid
numerical instability. The element length chosen met the requirement
of 20 nodes per smallest wavelength in the model. The excitation signal
was a 5-cycle tone burst modified by a Hanning window with a centre
frequency of 2.5 kHz.
Longitudinal Excitation
L(0,1) mode was excited by applying a uniform pressure pulse load at
one end of the pipe as shown in Fig. 3. Stresses and displacements were
monitored at the three nodal locations shown in Fig. 2. Time domain
displacement signals recorded at these locations and their corresponding frequency spectra are shown in Fig. 4. From Fig. 4 (a) there is no
appreciable change in signal shape as the wave propagates from N1 to
N3 (low dispersion). Fig. 4 (b) also shows little decrease in magnitude
of the frequency content (low attenuation). Using the signals at N1 and
N2, the attenuation coefficient of the L(0,1) mode at this centre frequency was calculated as 0.00034 m-1. From this attenuation, the signal
can theoretically propagate 8 km and retain more than 10 per cent of its
original energy.

Figure 3 Longitudinal guided wave excitation

Figure 4 Longitudinal displacement signals recorded at

3 nodal positions: (a) Time domain and (b) frequency spectrum

Torsional excitation
T(0,1) modes were generated by assigning a displacement rotation to
the edge nodes. The edge nodes were coupled to a master node as
shown in Fig. 5. All other parameters remain the same as for the longitudinal wave simulations. Fig. 6 shows the rotational displacements
at the three nodal locations and their corresponding frequency spectra. Compared to the L(0,1) modes, the change in shape as the signal
propagates from N1 to N3 is more noticeable (higher dispersion) and
the decrease in magnitude of the frequency spectrum is higher (higher
attenuation) as shown in Fig. 6 (a, b). At a centre frequency of 2.5 kHz,
the attenuation coefficient of the T(0,1) mode was calculated as 0.0083
m-1. From this attenuation, the potential propagation distance at this
frequency is less than 1.5 km. This shows that the L(0,1) mode has more
potential for long distance propagation than T(0,1) mode.

Figure 5 Torsional guided wave excitation

44 PIPELINE TECHNOLOGY JOURNAL

RESEARCH / DEVELOPMENT / TECHNOLOGY

Figure 6 Torsional displacement signals recorded at 3 nodal positions: (a) Time domain and (b) frequency spectrum

Interaction of low frequency guided wave with a

branch pipe
Oil theft is often carried out by attaching a branch pipe to siphon petroleum products. The model pipe was simulated with a 2 in. branch
pipe attached at the N2 location and the stresses and displacements
were recorded at N1 and N3. Fig. 7 shows a snapshot of the stresses
as the wave propagates along the pipe and up the branch. Fig. 8 (a)
shows the displacement history at node N1. The first pulse recorded
is the incident signal, I, that travels from left to right in Fig. 2. Sometime later there is a similar pulse but of much lower amplitude. This
is the reflection from the branch, termed RB in Fig. 8. The last pulse,
termed RE, is similar in magnitude to the incident wave. This is the
part of the wave that was transmitted across the branch and reached
the far end of the pipeline before being reflected back towards node
N1. Fig. 8 (b-d) shows the frequency spectra for the pulses termed I,
RB and RE. The reflection from the branch was quantified in terms of
reflection coefficient (RB/I) in the frequency domain. Comparing Figs.
8 (b) and (c), there is similarity between the frequency spectra of the
incident and branch reflected pulses. This allows the reflected signal
to be detected by cross-correlation with the incident signal. A timeshift of approximately 5 ms was observed from the cross-correlated
signal. From this time-shift and phase velocity of the wave at 2.5 kHz
the distance of the branch from the sensor location (N1) was calculated as 25.5 m. This shows the potential of GW at this frequency to
detect and locate a small branch attachment to a pipeline.

Figure 7 Snapshot of the stress contours along the model

with a branch attachment

PIPELINE TECHNOLOGY JOURNAL 45

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Figure 8 (a) Strain history at N1 showing Incident, branch reflection and

end reflection pulses and (b-d) their corresponding frequency spectra

Authors

Conclusions
The results show that the longitudinal GW mode can propagate long
distances without appreciable change in shape. In contrast, the torsional mode shows higher dispersion within the same propagation distance.
It is shown that at low frequency (2.5 kHz) the L(0,1) mode can be used
to detect a 2 inch branch in a 12 inch pipeline. The reflection coefficient
for the case considered is approximately 4 % of the incident signal and
the reflection will decay with distance. However, the reflected signal
from the branch was observed to have the same frequency content as
the incident signal. As the reflected signal therefore has a known frequency, it is more easily detected by e.g. cross-correlation. The reflected
signal can be used to detect the presence and the location of a small
branch on a pipeline.

Salisu El-Hussein
University of Aberdeen
School of Engineering
Aberdeen, UK
[email protected]
+44 (0) 1224 272801

Acknowledgement
The authors wish to acknowledge the support of Petroleum Technology
Development Fund-Nigeria for funding this research work.

Dr John Harrigan
Amec Foster Wheeler
Aberdeen, UK

References
[1] Jin Y and Eydgahi A 2008 Monitoring of Distributed Pipeline Systems by Wireless Sensors Networks Proc.
IAJC-IJME Int. Conf. ISBN 978-1-60643-3-79-9.
[2] Parfomak P W 2004 Pipeline security: An overview of federal activities and current policy issues CRS
report for Congress, Congress Research Service, the library of Congress available online at www.fas.org/
sgp/crs/RL31990.pdf
[3] Daveis P M, Dubois J, Gambardella F, Uhlig F, Lari J and Fredriksson M 2009 Performance of European
cross-country oil pipelines-Statistical summary of reported spillages in 2007 and since 1971 Brussels:CONCAWE
[4] Anifowose B, Lawler D M, Horst D and Chapman L 2012 Attacks on oil transport pipelines in Nigeria:
Aquatative exploration and possible explanation of the observed patterns Applied Geography 32 636-651
[5] Udofia O O and Joel O F 2012 Pipeline vandalism in Nigeria: Recommended best of practice of checking
the menace SPE Annual Int. Conf. and exhibition 6-8 August 2012 Abuja-Nigeria
[6] Diez M D, Majado SS, Cassiba I E and Sans P S 2011 State of the art integrity inspection and monitoring in
deep water assets, 10th offshore Mediterranean Conf. and exhibition, 23 -25 March 2011 Ravenna, Italy.
[7] Silk M G and Bainton K F 1979 The propagation in metal tubing of ultrasonic wave modes equivalent to
Lamb waves Ultrasonics 17 11 19
[8] Graff K F 1975 Wave motion in elastic solids (Oxford: Clarendon Press)
[9] Gazis D C 1959 Three dimensional investigation of the propagation of waves in hollow circular cylinders I
Analytical foundation J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 31 568-578
[10] Lowe M J S 1998 Characteristics of the reflection of lamb wave from defects in plates and pipes In D O
Thompson and D E Chimenti editors Review Progress in Quantitative NDE pg 113-120 Plenum Press New York

[email protected]
+44(0)1224 294198

Dr Andrew Starkey
University of Aberdeen
School of Engineering
Aberdeen, UK
[email protected]
+44 (0) 1224 272801

> Representative ILF Design, Major Water

Pipeline, Middle East

> by: Tobias Walk , ILF Consulting Engineers

CSSP

COMMON SEAWATER
SUPPLY PROJECT

Enabling one of the worlds top

oil producing regions
As the second largest oil producer of OPEC nations, Iraqs economy
fully depends on the stability and growth of the national oil industry. It is
therefore of paramount importance to keep the oil production at target
level. To achieve this goal it is necessary to apply secondary oil recovery
methods.
The method selected for the oil fields in Southern Iraq is to inject water
into the reservoir in order to maintain the reservoir pressure and to increase the percentage of oil extraction

PIPELINE TECHNOLOGY JOURNAL 47

RESEARCH / DEVELOPMENT / TECHNOLOGY

Water Source for Oil Field Pressure Maintenance

The amount of water required in Southern Iraqi oil fields for
this purpose is in the range of 12.5 million barrels of water
per day, which is equal to 24 m3/second.
Such quantities of water are not available
in the project provinces of Al-Basrah and
Missan, where temperatures regularly exceed 40 degrees Celsius and where the
annual precipitation rate is less than 155
mm. Sourcing water from the famous Euphrates and Tigris rivers would only amount
to 10% of the quantities required in the oil
fields. Furthermore, use of these local water sources would significantly detract from
the life sustaining water for the local population and community needs.
The only source available in sufficient quantity for the needs of the Project is seawater.
In consequence it is logical to take this seawater from a single point, treat it and supply it via a common system to the various
oil fields. The evolving Project is called the
Common Seawater Supply Project CSSP.
ORGANISATIONAL
THE OWNER

SET

UP

OF

The South Oil Company (SOC) received a

mandate from the Iraq Ministry of Oil and
International Oil Companies (IOCs) to develop and operate the CSSP.
SOCs key stakeholders in development
of the project include major global operators in the oil and gas industry such as BP,
CNOOC, ENI, ExxonMobil, Lukoil, PetroChina, Petronas, and Shell.
In order to support SOC, the consultant
CH2M Hill has been contracted as PMC
(Project Management Consultant) to manage and coordinate the execution of this
project.
ILFs CHALLENGING TASK
ILF identified this project as early as 2010
and presented preliminary technical concepts to ExxonMobil, who developed this
project in the initial phase. Subsequently,
as SOC took over the mandate for implementation of the project from ExxonMobil,
ILF kept a strong focus on the developments. In 2013, ILF was pre-qualified as the
only engineering company for both FEED
packages (Front End Engineering Design) i.e. for the STF (Seawater Treating Facilities)
and the pipelines. Both proposals were submitted in January 2014. During the follow-

ing five months, technical and commercial

details were negotiated and at the end of
June 2014, ILF received a Letter of Award
to perform the FEED package for the CSSP
pipelines. The contract between SOC and
ILF was signed in Abu Dhabi on 20 August
2014.
ILF has since developed an execution plan
to deliver the Tender Documents within one
year, which is extremely challenging. It will
require taking full advantage of ILFs broad
know-how and experience in designing and
managing the construction of large water
transmission pipelines in the Middle East.

> Iraq Area Map showing CSSP

location within Basrah province

To provide the best value for SOC, ILF is

leveraging the expertise of multiple offices.
The project management team resides in
Abu Dhabi, engineering is executed from
the ILF Center of Excellence in Munich and
the Basrah office handles all local project
requirements.
FEED execution is split into two distinct
phases: Optimization and Design Development, each within a 6 month schedule.
The project is currently in the optimization
phase, which is a specialty of ILF. As a result
of these studies a diameter of 56 has been
selected for the multiple pipelines running
from the Seawater Treatment Facility to the
various delivery stations in the oilfields.
The route verification is nearly complete
and has identified six major water course
crossings including the Euphrates, the Tigris and the Shatt Al-Arab.
System design is well on its way including
the simulation of transient flow conditions
(another specialty of ILF) and the design of
the pressure control and surge protection
facilities at the delivery stations.

> CSSP Pipeline Routing Overlay onto

the Iraq Satellite Image

48 PIPELINE TECHNOLOGY JOURNAL

RESEARCH / DEVELOPMENT / TECHNOLOGY

PROJECT SUMMARY
The Common Seawater Supply Project (CSSP) will
supply seawater to the oil fields Zubair, Tuba, Rumaila, West Qurna, Majnoon, Gharraf, Halfaya and Missan in the south of Iraq.
The intake and the Seawater Treatment Facility (STF)
will be approximately 40 km south of Basrah at the
west bank of the Khor Al Zubair river.
Phase one of the project shall have a capacity of 7.5
million barrels of water per day allocated to the various oil fields in South Iraq. After completion, the full
built out design capacity of the CSSP amounts to 12.5
million barrels of water per day which is equal to 24
m3/sec.
From the Shipping Pump Station (SPS), the water will
be pumped via two pipeline corridors through multiple 56 steel pipelines to the oil fields over distances
of up to 270 km.
The discharge pressure of the shipping pump station
will be in the range of 45 bar.
At the delivery stations the water will flow into the
tanks of the oilfield facilities, thereby providing hydraulic separation between these facilities and the
CSSP.
The estimated cost of the project is in the order of
magnitude of 12 billion U$ and it is envisioned that
this megaproject will require 3 years for completion.
With an ultimate capacity of 12.5 million barrels of
water per day, the CSSP will be one of the biggest
plants of its kind in the world.

> Representative ILF Design, Major Water

Pipeline, Middle East

Author

Tobias Walk
Director of Projects Pipeline Systems
ILF Consulting Engineers
Munich, Germany
[email protected]
+49 / 89 / 25 55 94 - 244

50 PIPELINE TECHNOLOGY JOURNAL

RESEARCH / DEVELOPMENT / TECHNOLOGY

dent
hunting

using high resolution in-line inspection

technologies and finite element analysis
Abstract

> by: Thomas Walther, ROSEN Group

For pipeline integrity management detailed feature assessments based on

finite element analysis (FEA) are getting more and more important. Considering dents as one of the major integrity threads of pipelines, the finite element analysis helps to differentiate between severe and benign dents.
Usually, the severity of dents is assessed by using
standards and methods, which refer to depth, length
and width as main criteria. In many cases, these
methods turn out to be over-conservative and lead
unnecessary pipe repairs or replacements, resulting
in unnecessary costs for pipeline operators.
A more accurate differentiation between severe and
un-severe dents can be provided on basis of strain
and stress values. This type of information can be
derived from high resolution geometry data, which
captures a high accurate contour of the pipeline. This
type of assessment is not only limited to plain dent
conditions any longer. While high resolution geometry tools reliably identify dents associated with girth
weld or long seams, dents associated with metal loss
corrosion, mechanical damage or crack can be identified by additional ILI technologies, namely MFL,
Dual Field MFL, UT and EMAT. An adequate categorization of dent conditions is key for the selection of
the right measure.
For plain dent conditions the ROSEN Group developed an automated streamlined process, which allows to rapidly generate and provide stress concentration factors, using the established ABAQUS code.
Based on this information, the remaining life can be
concluded by taking additional information, coming
from the SCADA System into account.

For dents, associated with metal loss or welds, an

extended engineering assessment based on
FEA allows an adequate assessment of these
types of dents.

figure 1:
24-Inch test
sample prior to
denting

The article introduces ILI technologies

and methods. It presents the results
from large scale testing and case studies to underline the usage of finite element analysis as instrument to assess
the pipeline integrity. The accuracy of
the stress concentration factor, derived
from high resolution geometry data, is
validated in multiple test comparing the
measurements with laser scans, taken
with established optical devices.

A set of dent analyses that may

have previously taken weeks can
now be reduced to a few hours
> Thomas Walther, Rosen Group

PIPELINE TECHNOLOGY JOURNAL 51

RESEARCH / DEVELOPMENT / TECHNOLOGY

THE
HUNTER
RoGeo XT 42
ILI Tool

INTRODUCTION
ID anomalies, especially dents, are a significant threat for pipeline integrity. They
often fail due to fatigue, caused by varying pressure cycles within a pipeline over
lifetime. But commonly dent severity is not assessed considering dynamic loads.
Historically, regulations regarding the severity of dents have been governed by
one of two metrics: dent depth or strain.
However, the technology and the inspection devices improved over the years, but
still dents are assessed using the depth or the strain criteria. The dent depth criteria permits dents with a depth up to 6% of the nominal diameter in both, gas and
liquid pipelines, although many operators already use stricter limits and targeting
those above a depth of 2% for evaluation.
Using the strain-approach plain dents of any depth are considered acceptable,
if the strain does not exceed 6%. The method becomes more common, as strain
calculations have become readily available. Therefore, the strain in the hoop
and axial planes of the dent is calculated based on the radii of curvature in each
plane and the extensional strain based on the length of the dent. An approach
is outlined in Appendix R of ASME B31.8. Both, the strain-based and dent depth
approaches have similar shortcomings. First, neither approach is adequate for
complex dents or in cases, where interacting dents may be present. In the case
of depth, the shape of a dent is completely neglected. A long, deep dent is not
distinguished from a shorter, steeper dent. While strain-based approaches improve on this shortcoming and can be useful for well-behaved dents, applying
the methodology where varying curvatures may exist in a complex dent becomes
significantly more difficult. To overcome these shortcomings Finite Element Analysis (FEA) can be used to analyze dents in a more adequate way. Complex dents
and well-behaved dents are both suitable for FEA, and the results are not sensitive to small undulations in data. The severity is calculated directly based on the
response of the dent to the applied loading, regardless of shape or size. In order
to use FEA for detailed assessment of dents, a highly accurate recorded counter
of those is required.

Confirmed effectiveness
The case study and additional investigations on
more than 113 dents demonstrated that FE-DAT
in combination with the RoGeo XT data provides
reliable and repeatable stress concentration factors
to assess the severity of dents.

Unique sensor array

The RoGeo XT has an unique combination of caliper
and eddy current sensors, called the mechatronic
measurement system, which can precisely measure
the profile and contour of geometric features.

52 PIPELINE TECHNOLOGY JOURNAL

RESEARCH / DEVELOPMENT / TECHNOLOGY

High resolution geometry inspection device

(ROGEO XT)
In order to enable FEA of dents, an in-line inspection system needs to
capture the shape of the dent with the utmost precision. Traditional
caliper devices do not provide the required resolution to use the recorded data for FEA. Common caliper devices do not have full surface
coverage. The majority of them is equipped with one senor plane, not
covering the whole circumference of the pipeline. The resulting lower resolution compared to two sensor plane devices and the existing coverage gabs result into misinterpretations and less accurate
measurements of the dent shape. But not only the amount of sensor planes guarantees a high accurate measurement of the counter.
Even two sensor plane devices will be influenced under certain run
conditions. Especially during high inspection velocities, caliper devices, independent of the coverage, will have an increased movement
while passing ID reductions. This causes a loss of continuous contact
with the internal surface, leading to inaccuracies and misrepresentations of the dent shape. But also at low speed abrupt changes along
the pipe wall, like diameter changes may not be captured correctly.
The RoGeo XT has an unique combination of caliper and eddy current
sensors, called the mechatronic measurement system, which can
precisely measure the profile and contour of geometric features. With
both information, coming from the eddy current and the caliper sensor, even movement on ID reduction and abrupt changes at the internal pipe surface can be compensated and will be precisely measured,
even in the presence of wax or debris. The device is equipped with
two sensor planes, resulting in an 100% circumferential coverage of
the inner surface of the pipeline. This device fulfills the perquisite described above for highly accurate measurements to be used for FEA.
The RoGeo XT tool fleet today covers pipeline sizes ranging from 6
to 48. Figure 1 shows a 42inch inspection device.
Finite element analysis, stress concentration factors
and remaining life analysis
To characterize the severity of discontinuities in uniform load bearing
objects, the stress concentration factor (SCF) is often taken into account. The SCF describes the ratio of the peak stress in a body to the
calculated nominal stress. The local stresses within an object depend
on the cross-sectional area of it. If the area contains a discontinuity, such as a hole, the local stresses around the discontinuity may
be several times higher than the nominal stress. This relationship is
characterized by the SCF. For simple shapes, such as holes, analytical SCFs are widely available. However, for more complex shapes
the SCF is derived from finite element models. This approach is used
in offshore structural analysis, where SCFs are combined with published S-N curves when determining fatigue lives for structural connections. In this case the SCFs is used to calculate the peak stresses,
which is required for fatigue calculations.
It is straightforward to expand the SCF methodology to the assessment of dents in pipelines. The nominal stress state in a pipeline is
easily classified as a function of the internal pressure according to
Barlows equation. The SCF can be derived from a precise model of
the dent within a finite element program. The model can be directly
constructed from the RoGeo XT data. Once the model is built, the SCF
is calculated by the finite element program, considering an applied
internal pressure and the maximum principle stresses.
Historically, finite element analyses have been cost intensive and
time-consuming for operators, but advances in technology have removed both of these limitations. Improved inline inspection technology (ILI) as well as improved data processing power enable the effective usage of FEA for dents in pipelines and permitted the creation of
a streamlined process, referred to as the Finite Element Dent Analysis Tool (FE-DAT). The FE-DAT is not limited to single dents only.

It is developed to analyze a large number of dents precisely and accurate. It works by taking data directly from a high-resolution ILI tool,
building a finite element model, and post-processing the results. A
set of dent analyses that may have previously taken weeks can now
be reduced to a few hours. The results from the analysis provide the
SCF for each dent, which is directly proportional to the severity of
each dent and indirectly proportional to the life. In addition, the stress
profile in the region surrounding the dent is also provided in the form
of stress contours.
Using the SCF a fatigue analysis can be done, if the operator provides pressure history data. Based on that a rain-flow analysis can be
performed in order to calculate an equivalent number of cycles a particular dent experiences. This equivalent number of pressure cycles
can be combined with the calculated SCF to determine the remaining
life of a dent. Due to the fact that the relationship between stress and
fatigue life is highly nonlinear, a fatigue analyses typically carry large
factors of safety.

The SCF is proportional to

the severity of the dent and
can be used to calculate the
remaining life of an anomaly
> Thomas Walther, Rosen Group

figure 2:
Pressure cycled
to failure

PIPELINE TECHNOLOGY JOURNAL 53

RESEARCH / DEVELOPMENT / TECHNOLOGY

CASE STUDY

CONCLUSION

In order to illustrate the effectiveness of the SCF method and provide a

comparison between test data and analytical methods, a case study was
performed. Therefore, a dent was generated in a 24-inch OD, 0.25-inch
wall thickness, Grade X52 pipe sample. Figure 2 shows the test set-up,
the indenter and the applied strain gages. The dent was generated by
pressing a 2-inch diameter indenter into the pipe to a depth of 3.61-inches (15% OD) in an unpressurized configuration. Afterwards, the shape of
the dent was recorded by an optical scanner and by the RoGeo XT inspection device.

The case study and additional investigations on more than 113 dents
demonstrated that FE-DAT in combination with the RoGeo XT data provides reliable and repeatable stress concentration factors to assess the
severity of dents. In comparison to the strain calculation the SCF correlates very well with depth. Furthermore there is also a slight correlation between the results using the strain approach and the SCF method.
Therefore, the B31.8 strain assessment provide valid results for a momentarily situation, but not for a fatigue assessment.

Next, the pipe was subjected to target pressure cycles ranging from 100
780 psi (9% - 72% SMYS) until failure occurred. The strains were recorded at intermittent points during cycling. The sample failed after 39,800
cycles when a longitudinally oriented thru-wall crack developed in the
shoulder of the dent as shown in Figure 3. The related SCF was calculated out of the recorded stresses from the strain gages and the nominal
stress from the recorded pressure range of 690 psi. The SCF from the
experimental data was 3.16.

The SCF is proportional to the severity of the dent and can be used to
calculate the remaining life of an anomaly. The advances in computing
and ILI caliper tools have allowed the process of analyzing dents to be
streamlined to the point where hundreds of dents can be analyzed quickly and the data be made available as part of ILI reports. This approach
has been validated through physical testing and represents an advanced
metric that can be used to prioritize dents.

In comparison to the experimental data, the analysis was performed using the FE-DAT and the finite element code ABAQUS. An internal pressure of 208.3 psi was applied to the model corresponding to a 10,000 psi
hoop stress. The analysis completed by the FE-DAT showed a maximum
principal stress of 32,784 psi on the OD of the pipe resulting in an SCF
of 3.28. In addition the data from the optical scan was provided and analyzed using ABAQUS in order to maintain consistency with the FE-DAT.
The same internal pressure of 208.3 psi was applied to the finite element
model. The calculated maximum principal stress on the OD of the pipe
was 38,014 psi yielding a SCF of 3.80.
In general, the calculated SCFs and depths compare well, particularly between the FE-DAT and the test data. The slightly higher SCF shown in
the optical scan can be explained by the fact that the optical scan was
recorded from the outside, while the RoGeo XT recorded the inner surface. Possible ovailities might not be recorded in the same way as the
RoGeo XT does. However, the FE-DAT and the test data showed closer
agreement for the dent depths and the resulting SCFs.
For the sample used for the case study, pressure history data was not
available, but as it was ultimately destructively pressure cycled in the lab,
comparisons can also be made between the predicted cycles to failure
and the actual cycles to failure. Using the calculated SCF of 3.28 and a
nominal stress of 33.1 ksi, the predicted number of cycles using the design S-N curve is 3674. The calculated number of cycles is significantly
lower than the actual number of cycles (39,800). This was expected, as
the usage of a standard S-N design curves provide more conservative
results and laboratory testing has usually a higher scatter influencing
the remaining life analysis. As previously mentioned, the relationship between stress and remaining live is highly nonlinear, so that even small
variations in stress lead to high deviations in the predicted life.

Author
Thomas Walther
International Service
Manager
ROSEN Technology &
Research Center GmbH
Lingen, Germany
[email protected]
+49-591-9136-121

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Protecting your assets,

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Nature is our greatest asset. It needs to be
preserved and protected as pipeline networks
grow and operational efficiency becomes
a key requirement.
NDT Global provides pipeline inspections
with a top first run success rate, superior data
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Canada | Germany | Malaysia | Mexico | Russia | Singapore | Spain | U.A.E | USA

56 PIPELINE TECHNOLOGY JOURNAL

RESEARCH / DEVELOPMENT / TECHNOLOGY

remote
welding

THE
HABITAT
RWS relies on the habitat,
the systems foundation.
It creates reference to the
pipe and spool and provide
a platform for the welding
tool

> by: Jan Helge Johannessen, Technip-DeepOcean PRS JV

PIPELINE TECHNOLOGY JOURNAL 57

RESEARCH / DEVELOPMENT / TECHNOLOGY

Remote Welding System (RWS)

New fully remote hyperbarbic welding
system rated to 1000msw

Statoil have, after several years of testing and technical qualification work, developed a Remote
Welding System that was qualified for contingency in the Pipeline Repair System pool services in
December 2014. The system is rated for operation down to 1000msw and covers pipelines which
are in depths exceeding the limit for diver assisted operations, which is currently 180msw.
The new fully remote hyperbaric welding system is mainly for subsea
repair of pipelines and covers pipe dimensions from 30 up to 42.
However, the equipment is a huge technical milestone for the subsea
business and opens new opportunities in the industry when it comes
to planned expansions of infrastructure, bypass of old installations
and tie-ins.
Different from the diver habitat that operates with pipe ends, butt
welding, the remote system involves installation of a pipe spool with
pre-welded sleeves, threaded over both pipeline ends, before welding
them together by a fillet weld.
Concept Description Three main modules
The Remote Welding System consists of three main modules; a habitat, a power & control module (POCO) and the welding tool. In short
terms; the habitat is landed over the pipeline, before the pipe and
spool are aligned. The habitat is then filled with welding gas (Argon)
and dehumidified. The POCO carries the welding tool, and lands onto
the habitat. A special designed sealing between the habitat and the
POCO provides dry transfer of the welding tool into the habitat. When
the welding tool is in position, the pipe and sleeve is preheated before
welding operation starts.
The habitat main functions are to act as a foundation of the system,
creating reference to the pipe and spool and provide a platform for the
POCO and the welding tool. It is equipped with 4 individually operated
legs, and longitudinal movement for accurately positioning of the habitat in reference to the welding position. The habitat functions are also
to provide a dry and Argon filled hyperbaric welding environment before the welding tool enters. The operation is remotely operated from
a topside control container on the vessel deck. All three modules are
equipped with a wide range of cameras, LVDTs, pressure, temperature
and proximity sensors for feedback and monitoring.
The POCOs main function is to house the welding tool and to provide
services for the tool during operations. The POCO enclosure consists
of two separate compartments:
- Electronic compartment containing most of the electronics and power distribution components required for operating the POCO and the
welding tool.
- Tool compartment, containing equipment and systems required to
transport the tool in and out of the habitat
Both compartments are pressurized with Argon whenever submerged
and will have a maximum operating differential pressure towards the
outside of about 0.5bar. Power communication and gas is supplied
through an umbilical from surface.

In addition, power sources for welding and preheating is located in 1

bar containers outside the POCO enclosure.
When the welding area is dry and acceptable welding conditions are
reached inside the habitat, the POCO is launched. After landing on the
habitat, the interface (between habitat door and POCO door) is blown
down. The doors are opened and the welding tool can engage around
the pipe. After doing a path capturing +/-180 and inspection of the
welding area by cameras, 2 pre-heat bands are engaged around the
pipe. The welding can start when pipe and sleeve temperatures are
above 50C.
For support and feedback the welding tool is among others equipped
with welding torch tip changer, welding camera, a grinder and various
sensors.

58 PIPELINE TECHNOLOGY JOURNAL

RESEARCH / DEVELOPMENT / TECHNOLOGY

Play Video
Technology Qualification Program (TQP)
After going through various system and subsystem testing throughout the project such as Factory Acceptance Testing, Site Integration
Test, Welding Robustness Testing and a Shallow Water Test, the last
part to fulfill the TQP was the Deep Water Test. This test was to validate the system and to show that the equipment could produce acceptable welds offshore.
The test was twofold with depths on 400msw in Nedstrandsfjorden
and 1000msw in Sognefjorden. Two weld sections on a pre-installed
pipe spool in the habitat were done on both depths and all the tests
were successful.

Author

The way forward

The deep water test was the final milestone and completion of the
project. Now the Remote Welding System is in contingency in the
PRS pool, operated by PRS JV on behalf of Statoil. It is being evaluated to expand its limits with deeper depths, smaller pipes and welding
of other pipe materials.

Jan Helge Johannessen

Planning Engineer,
PRS Pool services
Technip-DeepOcean PRS JV

PRS Joint Venture

Joint Venture between Technip Norge AS and

DeepOcean ASA
Contract awarded in December 2014, 5 years with
3 x 2 years option.
Includes operation, maintenance, engineering
and development of the Pipeline Repair System at
Killingy in Haugesund.

POCO
MODUL
The Power and Control
Moduls main function is to
house the welding tool and
to provide services for the
tool during operations.

Haugesund, Norway
[email protected]
+47 67 80 54 48

WELDING
TOOL
The three moduls of RWS
succeeded in all tests and
are fully operational. The
System can operate in
areas down to 1000msw.

COMPLEX
PIPELINE
INSPECTIONS.
SOLVED.

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60 PIPELINE TECHNOLOGY JOURNAL

RESEARCH / DEVELOPMENT / TECHNOLOGY

new era

of In-Line Inspection (ILI)

JUBAIL
SAUDI ARABIA
Pipeline corridors at King
Fahad Industrial Port.

> by: Hamad Almostaneer, SABIC

Intelligent Pigs for Internal Inspection & Repair

Welding of Cross-Country Pipelines

Abstract

Oil and gas are an important transport method of the energy sources products worldwide nowadays and in the near future. However, the major reserves of the oil and gas are mostly located in
remote areas. For this reason, pipelines have become the most efficient attractive method for oil
and gas transportation. Pipelines are also the most economical method used nowadays for transporting any type of fluid. However, the capital cost for crude trunk pipelines is very high, depending
on the pipeline steel grade, the design wall-thickness, and the length of the pipeline. These factors
often force the product owners to construct most of the cross-country pipeline network in a single
channel, making it difficult to shutdown for inspection, maintenance, or repair. In addition, the major
part of the cross-country pipelines are buried and excavation is precluded. Likewise, offshore pipelines are extremely difficult to inspect, maintain, or repair due to deep-water factors and low-density
environment. Inspection for integrity of pipelines is often conducted from the inside using an intelligent pigs with the capability of measuring any losses in the pipe wall thickness in the form of flaws,
cracks, or corrosion damages while traveling inside the pipeline. Nowadays, new era of smart pigs
for both; out-of-service and in-service pipelines have been developed/invented to perform an in-situ repair of these defects on the internal pipe surface before they reach a critical size and become
hazardous to operation & safety. This paper will discuss the new era of the intelligent pigs and the
benefits of carrying more developments in such tools.

PIPELINE TECHNOLOGY JOURNAL 61

RESEARCH / DEVELOPMENT / TECHNOLOGY

Figure 1: Pig station

A pig launcher/receiver, for Natural Gas Pipeline in Switzerland

Introduction
Pigging of a pipeline refers to the use of a Pipeline Inspection Gauge
or PIG to perform various maintenance operations on a transmission,
onshore, and offshore pipeline. This usually is done without stopping
the flow of production in the pipeline. These maintenance operations
include but are not limited to either cleaning, or inspection, or both of a
pipeline. This practice is achieved by inserting a pig into a pig launcher
or a launching station. It is a funnel shaped Y in both end-sections of
the pipeline. The launcher is then closed and the pressure-driven flow
of the product in the pipeline is then used to push it along down the
pipeline length until it reaches the receiving trap or a receiving station
as shown in Figure 1 [1,2,3].
One of the most crucial aspects of pipeline operation is ensuring the
pipeline integrity. For this reason, in-line inspection (ILI) pigs have become important. The Intelligent Pigs smart pigs are important tools
for assessing the integrity conditions of a pipeline, and is set to become
more integral part of the pipeline maintenance. Nowadays, more developments are made towards solving the integrity issues of Unpiggable
pipelines [2,3].
Pipeline Pigging Systems
A Pipeline Inspection Gauge or PIG in the industry is a tool that sent
through a pipeline and propelled by the internal pressure of the product
in the pipeline itself. Therefore, pigging operations are mostly performed
for in-service pipelines. There are four main uses for pigs: 1) Physical
separation, 2) Internal cleaning, 3) Inspection of the internal condition,
also known as an Inline Inspection (ILI) operations, and 4) Capturing
and recording geometric information related to the pipelines (i.e. size,
position, thickness loss, corrosion, etc.).
Depending on the type of pig, it can perform one or a number of specific tasks including [3,4]: 1) Cleaning debris from the pipeline, 2) Removing the residual products that accumulate with time, 3) Gauging
the internal wall of a pipe to locate defects, 4) Assessing the condition
and location. However, pipeline pigs can also be used for other purposes. These include but not limited to: 1) Hydrostatic testing, 2) Air/
nitrogen removal from the pipeline, 3) Batch separation in case of using
the same cross-country pipeline to batch multi-products, 4) Pre-inspection and certification of newly constructed pipeline, 5) Integrity assessment of an in-service pipeline, 6) Decommissioning unsafe pipeline for
environment purposes. Nonetheless, the pigs can only be one of two
main types: 1) Utility pigs, or 2) Intelligent pigs, also called smart pigs as

mapped in Figure 2 [1,3]. However, since the utility pigging technology is

relatively old and simple to deal with, this paper will focus more on the
intelligent pigs.
The Origins of Intelligent Pigs Industry
In 1959 five decades ago, T.D. Williamson introduced the first caliper
tool for detecting dents in pipelines. Pan-American Petroleum was developing a Cooley tool around the same time, which used the Magnetic Flux Leakage (MFL) technique. In 1961, Shell Oil Research developed
a technique for detecting pitting corrosion in down-hole casings based
on a MacLean tool, which worked with a Remote Field Eddy Current
(RFEC) [1,2,3].
In 1962, Tuboscope obtained a licence from Shell Oil Research for the
MacLean tool and started developing a smart pig to carry an array of
remote field eddy current sensors through a pipeline. Early test runs with
the MacLean tool were unsuccessful, as they could not detect known
pits in the test spools. Tuboscope then approached Pan-American Petroleum and purchased the Cooley tool patent. The MacLean tool was
discarded and the smart pigging developments switched to Cooley tool
or as known today as MFL technique. The new tool was branded LINALOG [1,2,3].
In 1964 Tuboscope ran the first commercial instrument for the new LINALOG 90 tool. It used MFL technology to inspect the bottom portion of
the pipeline. The system used a black box to record the information, a
highly customized analog tape recorder. This first commercial job was
for Shell company [1,2,3].

Intelligent PIGs
industry continued
to grow
> Hamad Almostaneer

62 PIPELINE TECHNOLOGY JOURNAL

RESEARCH / DEVELOPMENT / TECHNOLOGY

Utility Pigs

Cleaning Pigs

Sealing Pigs

Brush Pigs

Mandrel Pigs

Scraper Pigs

Foam Pigs

Dependet
Hydraulic Pigs

Solid cast Pigs

Hydraulic
activated

Spherical Pigs

Inline-Inspection
Tools (ILI)
Inline-Inspection (ILI)
Smart Pigs

ILI Geometry Pigs

Gel Pigs

Figure 2: An overview map of the available tools for both

1) Utility pigs, and 2) Intelligent pigs.

Plugs

Theories of Intelligent Pig Tools

Intelligent pigs are highly specialized tools for in-line inspection (ILI)
which can detect, locate, and size flows in pipelines. There is no tool
that can be used for all inspection purposes as each tool uses different
physics and principles. However, each inspection tool must be selected
accordingly and the ability of the used tool must correspond to the inspection requirements [4,5,6].
However, the difference between different tools can be identified due to
the measurement accuracies and the detection threshold. The following tools will focus on in-line inspection (ILI) tools and techniques that
are used within intelligent pigs to detect, size, and locate flaws that are
reached subcritical sizes [7,8,9].
Magnetic-Flux Leakage Tool

Figure 3: Magnetic-flux leakage working principle:

a pipeline with a perfect wall.

The magnetic-flux leakage (MFL) method can be used to measure and

locate cracks and metal-loss in both circumferential and axial directions.
It is a popular method for inspecting pipelines for both stress sensitivity
or levels and corrosion defects and characterization. The magnetic-flux
leakage (MFL) work principle is shown in Figure 3 [10,11,12].
Axial Magnetic-Flux Leakage Tool
This type of tool usually consists of a central body of mild steel around
which is mounted an annular arrangement of magnets. These magnets
spread from center outwards in a radial arrangement to give opposing
poles on either end of the body (north or south) as shown in Figure 4.
There are steel bristles which create contact with the pipeline wall, to
complete the magnetic circuit and allow the inspected pipe section to
be uniformly magnetized in the axial direction as the tool passes down
the line. If the pipe is not corroded, the magnetic flux will be locked-up
within the steel pipe wall. However, corrosion or any other feature such
as flaw will cause flux to leak out of the pipe wall which then can be
detected by the circular array of the magnetic sensors [13]. This type of
tools is directly related to the crack detection where axial MFL tool can
detect crack geometries at right angles to the induced magnetic field
such as cracks in girth welds [14,15].

Figure 4: Axial magnetic-flux leakage system.

64 PIPELINE TECHNOLOGY JOURNAL

RESEARCH / DEVELOPMENT / TECHNOLOGY

Transverse-Field MFL Tool

Eddy-Current Tool

MFL tools are good to detect flaws which are located at the angles to
the induced magnetic field. Axially-oriented narrow flaws are hard be
detected by the axial MFL. However, these narrow, long defects are
serious threat to the transfer pipelines integrity especially metal-loss
flaws and cracks in longitudinal seam welds of a pipeline. They can
cause failures during operation to in-service pipelines. The occurrence of the long axial defects led to the development of MFL system incorporating transverse magnetic field. The schematic of such
system is shown in Figure 5A. In theory, applying magnetic field in a
transverse direction around a pipeline makes it easier to differentiate
and characterize defects orthogonal to the field (long axial defect)
[14,15,16,17].

Eddy current inspection tool is another ILI-NDT tool that uses the
principle of electromagnetism as the basis for conducting measurements. Eddy currents are created through a process called electromagnetic induction by applying an alternating to a conductor, such
as a copper wire, a magnetic field will develop in and around the conductor. This magnetic field expands as the alternating current rises to
maximum and collapses as the current is reduced to zero [21].

Ultrasonic Tool
The major advantage of ultrasonic technique is the ability to provide
quantitative measurements of a wall of a pipeline. The high accuracy
levels make it an ideal ILI tool. UT inspection tools are fitted with sufficient number of ultrasonic transducers to ensure full circumferential
coverage of a pipeline. The transducers operate in an impulse-echo
mode. This means that they switch from being emitters of an acoustic signal in the ultrasonic sound range to being receivers [17,18,19].

Figure 9 shows the principle of the Eddy Current sensor inducing a

primary field, according to Lenz Law, 90 angle to the original field
lines of the coil. Due to further induction of the Eddy Current in the
primary field of the electric conductive material, a secondary field is
induced which will effect the coil impedance. In case of a defect in
the tube wall, the secondary field is changed in comparison to its origin. The change of the Eddy Current field lines causes a change of
the impedance of the Eddy Current probe coil, which is related to the
defects [22]. A remote field eddy current (RFEC) that uses a low frequency AC and relatively large exciter coils has become an excellent
NDT technique to detect cracks of internal wall of pipes and tubes as
shown in Figure 10 [23].

It is often done by determining the pulse repetition frequency. The

sensor emits an ultrasonic signal that is partly reflected at the internal wall surface and partly at the external wall surface of a pipeline.
The first reflection provides a measurement of the stand-off distance
and the second value for the wall thickness as shown in Figure 6.
As the tool travel through pipeline, the sensor takes measurements
at regular intervals, set by the traveling speed of the tool which later
analyzes the whole pipeline length [17,20].
Angle-beam Ultrasonic Tool
An ultrasonic crack-detection tool utilizes angled-beam probes.
The tool is designed to detect and size axial crack in a pipeline wall
and long-seam weld joints. It also detects stress-corrosion cracking
(SCC). The ultrasonic sensors are fixed at an angle to the wall at under a 45 angle which is optimum for crack detection. Depending on
the tool size, this tool can have up to above one thousand ultrasonic transducers. Minimum detection threshold for this tool is 30 mm
crack length and 1 mm crack depth. Circumferential cracks can also
be detected but it would require modified sensor carrier which have
to be turned by 90 angle. However, this tool as shown in Figure 7
successfully detected stress-corrosion cracks (SCC) [17].
The lower part of the picture shows the actual flaws and the upper-part are the displayed data by the UT tool. Nonetheless, detection
accuracies, high confidence levels of detection, sizing, and repeatability are the main characteristics of ultrasonic ILI tools [17].
Wall-Thickness-Measurement Ultrasonic Tool
This type of ultrasonic tools is used for metal-loss measurements. It
can be identified by the alignment of the ultrasonic sensors that are
mounted at 90 angle to the wall. Figure 8 shows the physical principle for this tool. Ultrasonic transducers emit a signal directed to the
internal surface of a pipeline wall and part of the signal is reflected
and received by transducers. The other part of the signal that travels
through the pipe wall is reflected back by the external surface of the
wall. The signals of this part are also received back by the transducers and provide wall-thickness measurement. This ultrasonic tool besides the function of wall-thickness measurements is ideal for flaws
that are present inside the pipeline wall such as hydrogen-induced
cracks and inclusions [17].

Figure 5: Transverse MFL tool: A) Schematic of the magnetization

arrangement for transverse-field, and B) Transverse field tool capable of
detecting cracks (Courtesy for TranScan).

PIPELINE TECHNOLOGY JOURNAL 65

RESEARCH / DEVELOPMENT / TECHNOLOGY

Figure 6: The principle of ultrasonic technique measurements.

Figure 7: Stress-corrosion cracks (SCC) detected by angled-beam ultrasonic tool.

66 PIPELINE TECHNOLOGY JOURNAL

RESEARCH / DEVELOPMENT / TECHNOLOGY

Feedstock
Pipelines

New Era of Advanced ILI Intelligent Pigs

Intelligent pigs industry continued to grow due to the demands of
increasing safety and reduce costs in maintaining transmission, onshore, and offshore pipelines. Osaka Gas studied various types of
robots capable of inspecting and repair welding pipelines from inside, and have succeeded in developing automatic welding robots to
reinforce welds from the inside of a steel pipeline. The configuration
of one of Osaka Gas systems is shown schematically in Figure 11 [24].

There are no technical limitations to these repair methods to the inside of either an out-of- or in-service pipeline. It is direct, inexpensive
to apply, and requires no additional materials beyond welding consumables. Typical system can be as schematically shown in Figure
15 [24].

The principle of the welding monitor, however, is all welding work is

remote-controlled above ground. The torch is controlled with four
axes, whose movement is programmed in a specified sequence. The
welding conditions can be monitored via two TV cameras. If excessive spatter is deposited on the torch nozzle, the nozzle then can be
automatically cleaned with a spatter remover as shown in Figure 12.
However, application of this repair method to the inside of an in-service pipeline would require that welding be performed in a hyperbaric
environment or to take the pipeline from service/operation [24].
Colorado School of Mines (CSM) invented a method that can be
developed within an intelligent pig system to perform in-situ crack
detection and repair welding internally, using the MAW-UO process
on the internal pipe surface of in-service pipeline. Likewise, the system configuration module of the welding unit that carries the torch of
MAW-UO process, NDE tool, grinding, and finishing tools connected
to other controlling units on board to travel inside a defective pipeline
that has flaws, cracks, or corrosion damage to be repaired is shown
schematically in Figure 13 [25].

Figure 8:
Wall-thickness-measurement ultrasonic tool working principle.

The concept of the MAWUO welding unit is to have an integrated

robot to remotely locate of some widely dispersed perforations in
the pipeline using remote laser profillometry (precision laser surface
mapping followed by analytical form fitting). Then, eddy-current characterization of the defected areas and a remote positioning and repair
welding of a patch, followed by inspection. The weld metal buildup or
overlay and finally the inspection all should be remotely controlled
with full vision and laser positioning as shown in Figure 14 [25].
Figure 9: Principle of Eddy Current.

PIPELINE TECHNOLOGY JOURNAL 67

RESEARCH / DEVELOPMENT / TECHNOLOGY

Summary
The in-line inspection intelligent pigging of pipelines have grown tremendously in the last five decades and progressed from utility pigs that
are used for cleaning, to smart pigs that are used for inspection purposes, and today to in-situ repair smart pigs.

The inspection/repair of pipelines using intelligent pigs is now well

established, and interests are growing in the use of this versatile technique. Intelligent pigging tools offers a viable alternative to traditional,
manual inspection techniques with several significant advantages.

Figure 10:

Figure 12:

Remote Field Eddy Current (RFEC) inspection technique.

Schematic of the welding unit.

Figure 11: Osaka Gas Co./Sumitomo Metal Model; Internal Welding Robot system.

68 PIPELINE TECHNOLOGY JOURNAL

RESEARCH / DEVELOPMENT / TECHNOLOGY

Figure 13: Colorado School of Mines Module; In-Situ Repair Welding Robot.

Figure 14: 3D view of MAWUO process welding unit.

Figure 15: System configuration of intelligent pig for repair welding.

References

Author
Dr. Hamad H Almostaneer
Scientist, Materials, Corrosion
& Static Equipment Domain
MCC SABIC, Saudi Basic
Industries Corporation
Jubail, Saudi Arabia
[email protected]
+966 (13) 359 9129

[1] Woodley, D; The origin of intelligent pigs; Pipelines International (2011)

[2] PM Pipeliner; Pigging and Developments; www.pm-pipeliner.safan.com (2014)
[3] Al-Jafar, M.; and Almostaneer, H.; The Efficiency of NDT Techniques on In-Line Inspection (ILI) for Pipelines Internal
Inspection; AMPT Conf. Proc., Dubai, UAE (2014)
[4] Mohitpour, Mo et al.; Pipeline Operation and Maintenance: A Practical Approach; 2nd edition; ASME Press., New York,
NY (2005)
[5] Mohitpour, M. et al.; Pipeline System Design, Construction and Operation Rationalization; ASME 14th OMAE Conf.
Proceedings (1995)
[6] Almostaneer et al.; In-situ repairs of pipelines using metal arc welding under oil (MAW-UO) aided by eddy current
crack detection, AIP Conf. Proc. 1430, 1243 (2012)
[7] Bruce, W. A.; A Simple Approach to Hot Tap and Repair Sleeve Welding; WTIA Int. Pipeline Integrity Conf. Proceedings
(2005)
[8] Gordon, J. R., Bruce, W. A., Sullivan, M., and Neary, C. M.; Internal Repair of Pipelines -Technology Status Assessment;
U.S. Department of Energy; Edison Welding Institute and Pacific Gas & Electric (2002)
[9] Process Piping Design Handbook; The Fundamentals of Piping Design, Vol. 1; Gulf Pub. Co.; Houston; TX (2007)
[10] Ramuhalli, P.; et al.; Electromagnetic NDE Signal Inversion by Function Approximation Neutral Networks; IEEE Trans.
Magazine; Vol. 38 (2002)
[11] Ivanov, P.A.; et al.; Magnetic Flux Leakage Modeling for Mechanical Damage in Transmission Pipeline; IEEE Trans.
Magazine; Vol. 34 (1998)
[12] Atherton, D.L.; Effect of Line Pressure on the Performance of Magnetic Inspection Tools for Pipelines; Oil and Gas
Journal; Vol. 84 (1986)
[13] Mandal, K.; et al.; The Study of a Race-Track-Shaped Defect in Ferromagnetic Steel by Magnetic Barkhausen and Flux
Leakage Measurements; Journal Magnetism Magnet. Mater.; Vol. 212 (2000)
[14] Beller, M.; et al.; On the Problem of Detecting and Assessing Cracks in Pipelines; OMAE Int. Conf. Proceedings;
Stavanger; Norway (1991)
[15] Bal, C.; New Transverse Flux Technology for On-Line Inspection, IBID (2002)
[16] Reber, K.; and Beller, M.; How Do Defects Assessments Methods Influence the Design of New In-Line Inspection
Tool; Pipeline Rehab. and Maint. 5th Int. Conf. Proc., Bahrain (2002)
[17] Tiratsoo, J.; Pipeline Pigging & Integrity Technology; 3rd edition; Scientific Surveys Ltd & Clarion Pub. (2003)
[18] Cordell, J.; and Vanzant, H.; All about Pigging; On-Stream Systems; UK (1995)
[19] Beller, M.; et al; Getting Ahead with Ultrasound; World Pipelines (2006)
[20] Reber, K.; et al.; Advances in the Ultrasonic In-Line Inspection of Pipeline; 3R-International; Special Edition (2004)
[21] Bray, D. E.; and Stanley, R. K.; Nondestructive Evaluation: A Tool in Design, Manufacturing, and Service; CRC Press;
New York; USA (1997)
[22] Reber, K.; Innospection Germany GmbH, Stutensee, Germany, the PPSA Seminar; A.Bnisch, Innospection Ltd.;
Aberdeen; UK (2010)
[23] Osagawa, A.; An internal welding robot system for 600 mm steel pipelines; pp. 175-182; Proceedings of the 6th
ISARC; USA (1989)
[24] Atherton, D.L.; et al.; Remote Field Eddy Current Inspection Techniques for Metallic Tubes; Ph.D. Thesis, Queens
Univ., Kingston, CA (2006)
[25] Al-Mostaneer, H.; and Olson, D.L.; In-Service Weld Repairs Using Metal Arc Welding Under Oil (MAWUO) Of Pipelines, Tanks, And Vessels; Patent; US 20120111837 (2012)

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70 PIPELINE TECHNOLOGY JOURNAL

CONFERENCES / SEMINARS / EXHIBITIONS

Pipeline Seminars 11-12 JUNE 2015 IN BERLIN, GERMANY

Further information: www.pipeline-conference.com

Seminar

Seminar

Seminar

In-Line Inspection of
Onshore and Offshore
Pipelines

Geohazards and Geotechnics

in Pipeline Engineering

Microbiologically influenced
corrosion (MIC) and its impact
on pipeline corrosion
management
11-12 June 2015

11-12 June 2015

Estrel Berlin

Estrel Berlin

11-12 June 2015

Berlin, Germany

Berlin, Germany

Estrel Berlin
Berlin, Germany

organized by

organized by
Euro Institute for Information
and Technology Transfer
Euro Institute for Information
and Technology Transfer

organized by

a Pipeline Technology Conference event

Pipeline Technology
Conference 2010

Pipeline Technology
Conference 2010

Euro Institute for Information

and Technology Transfer

a Pipeline Technology Conference event

Pipeline Technology
Conference 2010

a Pipeline Technology Conference event

In-Line Inspection of Onshore and Offshore

Pipelines

Geohazards and Geotechnics in Pipeline

Engineering

Microbiologically influenced Corrosion (MIC) and

its impact on pipeline corrosion management

The course will provide an in-depth introduction

into the subject and importance of pipeline inspection and integrity management. Delegates will learn
about the need for pipeline inspection and the use
of inspection for the analysis of the pipelines integrity and fitness-for-purpose.

The course will provide an in-depth introduction

into the subject and importance of Geohazards and
Geotechnics during the stages of evaluation, design, construction and operation of a pipeline.

Engineering importance is a function of cost and

risk. Cost of corrosion is about 5% of the GDP of a
country and microbial corrosion (MIC) accounts for
about 1/5 of the corrosion cost. In addition to cost,
what makes it even worse is that a great number
of MIC cases are mistakenly attributed to corrosion
phenomena other than microbial corrosion. In engineering terms, Risk is defined as the product
of likelihood and consequences: no matter how
low the likelihood, as the consequences could always be critical, the risk of MIC is classified as extremely high. Almost all engineering materials are
susceptible to microbial corrosion. Corrosion- related bacteria can tolerate a wide range of pH and
temperatures. A combination of the above factors
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dealt with meticulously. MIC can be observed in a
wide range of industries from mining, oil & gas, power generation to marine industry, chemical industry
and even in ships and in systems such as hydrants
and pipelines.

Delegates will learn about the need for Geohazard

Assessment and Geotechnical Engineering in relation to the route selection and the pipeline integrity.
Additionally, potential protection measures and/or
monitoring techniques will be presented.

The course will introduce the flaws and anomalies

observed in pipelines. Suitable external and internal
inspection technologies will be introduced including the strength and weaknesses of the non-destructive testing principles applied.

The main disciplines that will be presented during

the course are Engineering Geology, Soil Mechanics, and Rock Mechanics, while special emphasis
will be given on Slope Instabilities and Stabilization
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The material cover details on a pipeline inspection

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gauging.

Since many countries worldwide are characterized

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introduce the topics of Geotechnical Earthquake
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Final Reports, Reporting Formats are discussed. The

course also includes a short introduction into integrity assessment.

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