Pipeline condition monitoring using pressure wave propagation

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Pipeline condition monitoring is becoming more and more critical, both to address safety, environmental and economic concerns, as well as to give the public sufficient confidence to grant social license to a project. This proposal will test the feasibility of a novel method of continuously monitoring the health of a pipeline, by measuring its pressure wave propagation characteristics.When a pressure wave is introduced into a pipe containing a liquid, the propagation of that wave down the pipe is governed by the stiffness of the fluid as well as the stiffness of the containing pipeline. As a pipeline is eroded, the wall thickness of the pipe is reduced, which reduces the stiffness of the pipe, affecting the wave properties of the system. This affects the wave speed as well as the frequency and impulse response of the system. We propose that changes in the pipeline wall thickness can be detected using pressure measurements, resulting in a low-cost, continuously monitoring of the health of the pipeline.This research will be carried out in the University of Saskatchewan Fluid Power Laboratory, which has considerable experience in wave propagation in pipelines. We will also collaborate with the U of S pipeline corrosion laboratory. The industrial partner is Mosaic Potash Belle Plain, whose solution mines involve many large-capacity pipelines carrying brine to and from potash-producing wells.This project has the primary benefit of improving the safety of Canada's pipeline infrastructure, beginning with the industrial partner's pipelines, but will be applicable in all liquid-conveying pipelines. The technology is expected to reduce the cost and increase the frequency and coverage of pipeline inspections. Finally, this technology can be commercialized by a Canadian enterprise and exported to pipeline operators worldwide.