A field study was conducted by Corrosion Service and TransCanada Pipelines to determine the influence of the AC current density and of the coating holiday size on the rate of AC corrosion. This field study involved burying steel coupons of three different sizes (i.e., 1 […]
Pipeline integrity is embracing the technologies that have been produced by the Big Data revolution. Database access, machine learning algorithms, and analytics tools are no longer the domain of researchers and IT experts, and can be easily deployed to improve our use of pipeline integrity […]
Techniques for telluric compensation of close-interval potential survey (CIPS) data have been known and used in the pipeline industry for many years. However, in recent years, operators have begun to question the effectiveness of surveys performed during periods of significant telluric activity and, in some […]
The ability to adequately monitor and protect long, deep trenchless crossings installed in rock is critical to ongoing safe operation of pipelines. This paper is a case study of a long horizontally directionally drilled crossing that was subject to significant coating damage at installation. The […]
Recent close-interval potential surveys have raised concerns about the accuracy of potential measurements on some older pipelines. Two significant sources of error were identified: metallic IR-drops and equalization currents. These resulted in measured on and off potentials which differed by hundreds of millivolts from the […]
This paper covers various methods for dealing with sources of errors affecting the accuracy of the Direct Current Voltage Gradient (DCVG) coating defect identification and sizing tool. Topics reviewed in detail include: eliminating the influence of local soil resistivity and varying pipe depth on the […]
An AC interference study was conducted in 2015 following the installation of a new 240 kV powerline in a remote area of Alberta, Canada. The calculations indicated severe risk of AC corrosion for the paralleling pipelines and safety hazards for pipeline personnel, especially under fault […]
In recent years, effective techniques have been developed for conducting integrity assessments along cross-country pipelines. In order to provide similar confidence in facility integrity, it was proposed to apply a modified external corrosion direct assessment process to a small station. Until now, congested facility environments […]
The quality of the indirect inspection data is a critical factor in conducting a successful ECDA. It is therefore essential to increase the accuracy of the field data collection, to improve the data processing and to effectively present the results. This paper describes several challenges […]
When installing pipelines in rocky areas, additional mechanical safeguards may be necessary to protect the coating. These safeguards may take the form of intermittent supports which elevate the pipeline off the trench bottom. As such supports are non-metallic and are installed directly against the pipeline […]
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