Pipeline Integrity

The process of pipeline integrity ensures pipelines and their related components are properly and safely designed and operational. The goal is to safeguard pipelines from damage and defects all the way through their life spans, from design to decommissioning.

Because pipelines are exposed to extreme conditions, taking steps to improve and maintain pipeline integrity is essential. As a result, pipeline integrity management (PIM) involves numerous strategies to ensure the pipeline is continually safe for use.

Understanding how a pipeline might fail is crucial, as it helps pipeline managers and maintenance workers better anticipate failures and enact proper PIM. There are several potential causes of pipeline failure, including:

• Corrosion: This process happens naturally when metal materials deteriorate through oxidation. In regard to pipelines, corrosion can cause metal loss in the pipe, which leads to weakening and compromises the overall integrity of the pipe. There are two main types of corrosion — external, which is the outside material of the pipe reacting with the surrounding environment, and internal, which refers to interior pipe corrosion from the products traveling through it. Other specific types of corrosion can occur on pipeline components, such as seam corrosion.
• External forces: One of the most common pipeline failure causes is external damage. For example, natural forces like landslides or temperature extremes, or other outside forces, such as vandalism, can lead to failures in pipeline integrity. These causes can be beyond human control, but PIM for external forces is still necessary.
• Internal pressure: The internal pressure within pipelines is often cyclical, which can lead to eventual interior wear. This kind of failure is more likely to happen over time as the inner wall of the pipe experiences pressure fluctuations.
• Material failure: Sometimes, defects can be present in the material manufacturing process for pipelines. This issue can lead to incomplete bonding in the steel components used to produce the pipe. While rare in modern pipeline production processes, impurities are still a possibility and can lead to failure later on.

Understanding how a pipeline might fail is crucial, as it helps pipeline managers and maintenance workers better anticipate failures and enact proper PIM.