Predictive crack growth models for pipeline integrity and risk management - phase III

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Pipeline transportation is vital to Canadian economy. In 2013, Canada's oil and gas exports, worth $81 billion, were carried by pipelines. The safety and integrity of pipelines is a matter of paramount importance due to the hazardous nature of the transported substances. Despite the fact that pipeline is the best method of transportation, over the last 20 years, pipeline incidents have caused over $6.3 billion in property damage in Canada. Near-Neutral pH Stress Corrosion Cracking (NNpHSCC) represents a substantial cost to Canadian pipeline companies and hence to Canadian consumers. SCC is controlled from an integrity management point of view by in-line inspection for oil pipelines or by hydrostatic testing for gas pipelines. Either of these techniques provides protection from in-service failures for a number of years and then the process has to be repeated. The testing cycle is particularly troublesome for gas pipelines since only quite large flaws that fail at hydrotest stress are detected by the hydrostatic testing technique. These procedures are also enormously expensive. The re-inspection interval or re-test interval is currently determined based on empirical models, which are rather imprecise. The ultimate goal of the current proposal is to understand the SCC mechanisms and to develop solutions for crack growth control and integrity management. This research builds upon 2 previous NSERC CRD projects. In the current Phase (Phase III), significant efforts will be made to further improve the predictability of Pipe-Online (trade mark-pending) software developed in previous phases, and at the same time, the attention will also be shifted to some new directions. This includes efforts to develop new practical approaches and/or to modify existing approaches for a better management of pipeline integrity and risk during pipeline operation.