Severity assessment of small wrinkles in pipelines subject to load cycles

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Steel pipelines buried beneath the earth are the primary structure the pipeline industry uses to transport oil, gas, and petroleum products. Canada has the second-largest pipeline network in the world. The Canadian pipeline industry employs thousands and adds about $8.8 billion to Canada's GDP. Hence, the structural safety and uninterrupted operation of oil and gas pipelines are paramount. Buried oil and gas pipelines endure aggressive and corrosive environments and complex loading. As a result, these pipelines develop various defects while in service. One such defect is the formation of wrinkles in the pipeline. The presence of wrinkle defects is not uncommon in a buried pipeline. It is believed that a small wrinkle defect may not pose any threat to a pipeline's operation or a pipeline's structural safety. However, no research data is available to support this belief. Therefore, the pipeline industry unwillingly removes or repairs wrinkle defects to avoid any possible risk of pipeline failure where the wrinkle defect is located. Repairing or removing a portion of a pipeline is costly. Further, it may lead to an undesirable shutdown of the pipeline operation. These result in the pipeline industry losing revenue, and interrupts the supply of oil and gas to various industries, businesses, and home owners. To prevent these outcomes, this research program will develop much-needed defect assessment guidelines that the pipeline industry is desperately looking for. Hence, the outcome of this project will provide the pipeline industry with a tool to assess risk of failure in buried pipelines with small wrinkle defects. This helps to reduce the amount of revenue the pipeline industry loses from theses defects and minimizes interruptions to the supply of oil and gas.