Ground Movement

Ground Movement and Pipe Strain

Pipelines are not always stable, and movement can occur due to ground settlement, subsidence, landslides, earthquakes, flooding, and human activity like mining or drilling. Pipeline movement or deformation redistributes the axial force along the pipe, increasing tension in some locations and compression in others. The tensile stress/strain and bending strain can lead to pipeline leak or rupture. Conventional monitoring and strain measurement methods using IMU, Strain Gauges or Satellite Geo-Spatial analysis does not provide a holistic solution for monitoring strain in pipelines.

MASiP Pipe System offers a digital real time monitoring system with an intimate connection to the displacement strain and thereby any residual stresses along the full pipeline length.

SPS onsite trials demonstrate the potential of helically wound optical fibre to detect pipeline movement, bending and local deformations. Engineers can obtain valuable information about resulting damages and the overall integrity of the asset – even during an earthquake.

This technology offers a more precise and efficient way of monitoring pipelines, to improve safety, reduce costs and improve decision making and timeliness of repair and maintenance. This will improve the security of energy supply and reduce emissions.

Unpiggable Pipe Replacement

Despite advances in inline inspection technology, a large proportion of pipelines remain difficult to pig or are deemed "unpiggable", which means they cannot be inspected due various reasons like unfavourable operational parameters, design without pigging considerations or high ILI execution costs. Regulatory bodies are increasingly scrutinising, how operators can meet the strict legislative and environmental requirements for demonstrating the safe performance and integrity of such pipeline without pigging or periodic hydrotesting.

Replacement of Unpiggable pipe sections and integrity critical sections that are within High Consequence Areas (HCA) with MASiP Pipe System provides a innovative and cost-effective strategy to ensure true pipeline integrity and regulatory compliance.