Synergistic methods for pipeline inspection

安全、经济的石油和天然气运输是加拿大基础设施的重要组成部分。随着管道的老化，需要不断的维护和维修，这不仅是为了确保经济稳定，也是为了防止管道破裂造成的灾难性环境破坏。因此，必须定期检查管道是否存在潜在的危险缺陷。首选的检查方法是漏磁(MFL)成像。这通常是使用插入到管道中的被称为“清管器”的检查装置来实现的。这些设备收集管道的磁性“图像”，帮助检查人员识别管道壁中潜在的危险缺陷。该项目的目标是开发一个可靠的自动化算法框架，可用于管道缺陷检测和评估。重点是对表面破裂、裂缝和腐蚀等缺陷进行准确的描述和评估，以便能够适当地优先进行维修和更换。这将通过信号处理和磁逆问题的基于物理的模型辅助方法的协同组合来实现。这项建议是与Intratech在线检测服务有限公司(INTRATECH)合作的，INTRATECH是一家为世界各地的管道运营商提供漏磁成像检测服务的公司。在该项目过程中开发的方法将使我们的工业合作伙伴、加拿大管道行业和环境受益，因为它们都与改进管道检查程序有关。

The safe and economical transport of oil and natural gas is an important part of Canada's infrastructure. With aging pipelines, the need for constant maintenance and repair is important not only to ensure economic stability but also to prevent catastrophic environmental damage resulting from pipeline rupture.  Thus, pipelines must be regularly inspected for potentially hazardous defects.  The preferred method of inspection is magnetic flux leakage (MFL) imaging. This is normally accomplished using an inspection device referred to as a "pig", which is inserted into the pipe. These devices collect a magnetic "image" of the pipe, that helps the inspectors identify potentially hazardous defects in the pipeline wall.The goal of this project is to develop a reliable automated framework of algorithms that can be used for pipeline defect detection and evaluation. The emphasis is on the precise characterization and evaluation of defects such as surface breaking cracks and corrosion so that repair and replacement can be duly prioritized. This will be accomplished by a synergistic combination of signal processing and physics-based model-aided approaches to a magnetic inverse problem. Sophisticated optimization methodologies such as space mapping will be used to accelerate the solution process.This proposal is in co-operation with Intratech Inline Inspection Services Ltd. (Intratech), a firm which provides MFL imaging inspection services to pipeline operators throughout the world. The methodologies developed in the course of this project will benefit our industrial partner, the Canadian pipeline industry, and the environment, as they all  have a stake in improved pipeline inspection procedures.