Internal Corrosion Detection in Liquids Pipelines

PHMSA project DTRS56-05-T-0005 "Development of ICDA for Liquid Petroleum Pipelines" led to the development of a Direct Assessment (DA) protocol to prioritize locations of possible internal corrosion. The underlying basis LP-ICDA is simple; corrosion in liquid petroleum systems is most likely where water and/or solids accumulate. Despite the development of this protocol, it still suffers from the same limitations as other DA methods in that no direct measurement regarding the pipe or the environmental aggressiveness is made. That is, the LPICDA methodology attempts to predict the locations most likely to experience internal corrosion in liquids lines but then the operator needs to conduct subsequent evaluations, such as ILI runs or excavations both of which are expensive and may not always be easy to accomplish, to confirm the LP-ICDA predictions. The method developed here is a complimentary technology that can be used in both piggable and un-piggable pipelines that is capable of making direct measurements of the corrosive environment that may be present at the locations predicted by LP-ICDA. The goal of the project team was to build a prototype and test in the lab and for validation in field. Based on the outcome of the lab tests and field trials, additional modifications and improvements were envisioned to better enable the acceptance and adoption of this technology by pipeline operators and regulatory agencies. To accomplish this objective, the following tasks are proposed: 1. Assemble a prototype that can detect water as well as provide its location 2. Conduct trials in the laboratory to validate its operation in pipeline conditions 3. Conduct trials in the field and identify any necessary system improvements.\n