The resulting LOF is combined with a consequence of failure (COF) value to quantitatively determine the risk associated with the pipeline’s condition. This provides quantitative risk management, calculating asset integrity and informing maintenance activities.
The system strategy is described in Figure 1:
The testing environment, as defined by the operator, will determine which parameters are used. These could include the external pipe diameter, support span length, wall thickness of main pipe, fluid velocity, gas dynamic viscosity and fluid density.
The system prototype comprises a vibration signal sensor and an assessment module. A touchscreen interface allows the operator to enter the pipe and fluid details. Once the vibration data is acquired, the functions can be calculated either in real-time or using offline advanced data processing.
The system is able to plot both the acceleration and the frequency spectrum, enabling the detection of dominant peak frequencies. This allows the initial vibration assessment to be determined and the LOF for flow-induced turbulence to be calculated and plotted on the risk-based inspection matrix (Figure 2).
The developed system can be used for fluid-carrying pipework deployed in the following environments:
- oil and gas upstream production/processing offshore plants
- oil and gas downstream chemical processing plants
- power generation plants
- water/waste water plants
- pharmaceutical plants
Research leading to these results has received funding by TWI’s Core Reach Programme. For further information, please email contactus@twi.co.uk