New Technologies and Trends Of Pipeline Integrity Management Practiced in Ireland

Pipelines are largely exposed to hazardous environments - be it city drainage systems or the pipelines in factories like pharmaceuticals, petrochemicals, agriculture. Root ingress, pressure, chemical corrosion, thermal stress  - there are so many threats to pipeline integrity.

 

The focal objective of Pipeline Integrity Management (PIM) is to monitor pipelines, ensure all the components are running fine, and identify any threat or damage to any location, to take prompt steps to repair and reinstate the structure.

 

In Ireland, the No-Dig Technologies have been used for the last 30years. Now, new innovations of machines and software have come into the market, offering higher precision and efficiency.

 

The Environmental Protection Agency Ireland takes the onus of setting the standards for Requirements for Underground Pipeline Testing at Industrial and Waste Licensed Sites. And there are several safety compliance guidelines in place that help the industries to streamline their PIM plans and solutions.

Pipeline Testing Parameters in Practice

 

Among the primary parameters of PIM is leak detection with hydrostatic testing, CCTV inspection to obtain visual records of underground assets, Lateral Inspection to monitor any redundant or capped connections in the pipeline and also ensure the quality standards of new pipes. 

Regular pipeline tests are recommended by the EPA. There is no set timeline for these assessments, since different pipelines have different lifespans. Therefore it is a growing trend to have software and surveillance enabled PIM plans that bring faster, hassle-free and comprehensive results.

 

●       Pressure Testing

 

Pressure testing pipelines is a very old tactic to judge the safety, reliability and longevity of pipelines. But now software-enabled technologies are largely on-trend. Air or water is passed through the pipe with high pressure created by compressors or pumps. The pressure should be higher than the normal operating force. The idea is to see the strength of the pipeline if there are leaks in the structure, and also to assess its capability to retain high pressure and for how long. This information is crucial data for gas pipelines because the loss of pressure can even lead to pipeline bursts and explosions.

 


●       GPR Surveys

 

Ground Penetrating Radar, or simply, GPR systems utilise the radar principle for non-invasive subsurface imaging to obtain several key data for structural integrity and geophysical assessments. See if there are any leakage points, cracks, in the pipe, concrete buildup, root ingress or any obstacles due to sludge buildup, or solid wastes. These findings help in risk assessment and management. Varying frequency of electromagnetic radiation is transmitted from the GPR device - the higher the frequencies are the clearer the image results get.

 

●       Software-based Report Production

 

Sewer and Pipeline inspection software like Infonet Asset Management and Data processing tools have made it possible for PIM engineers and teams to keep stable pipeline health within diverse industry verticals and operational environments.  These have become increasingly cost-competitive and single-tier projects for actionable PIM plans.

 

Pipeline and Drainage Survey Studies for IPPC Compliance

The EPA Ireland sets clarified guidelines for Integrated Pollution Prevention Control (IPPC or IPC) for pipeline and drainage integrity. It is a type of license that ensures that the facility complies with EPA standards and for reduced environmental impact with its capabilities of foul water management, groundwater pollution control, treatment of domestic effluents etc. A similar license is the Industrial Emissions License (IED) that utilises various pipeline and drainage integrity studies to determine if there is any adverse impact caused by  emissions released from the facility.

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