Transient Tests for Checking the Trieste Subsea Pipeline: Toward Field Tests

Abstract

Subsea pipelines are vital arteries transporting oil, gas, and water over long distances and play a critical role in the global resource supply chain. However, they are the most vulnerable to damage from both human-made and natural causes and are characterized by inherent inaccessibility. As a result, routine inspection and monitoring technologies, both reliable and at the lowest possible cost, are needed to ensure their longevity. To fill this need, the use of transient-test-based techniques is proposed. In this first paper of a set of two companion papers, attention is focused on the selection of the appropriate maneuver that generates pressure waves and then on the planned steps—i.e., the sequence of actions—functional to the execution of the transient tests in the best flow conditions for effective fault detection. A brief review of the available fault detection technologies with their limitations is also offered. Finally, the performance of the proposed procedure is evaluated mainly in terms of the stability of the pressure regime prior to the execution of the transient test.

Transient Tests for Checking the Trieste Subsea Pipeline: Diving into Fault Detection

“…In our companion paper [2], after highlighting the main issues related to fault detection in SPs, attention was focused on the Trieste (Italy) SP (Figure 1). According to the characteristics of the water supply system that includes the Trieste SP, the transient test-based techniques (TTBTs) have been identified as the most suitable approach for fault detection.…”

“…According to the characteristics of the water supply system that includes the Trieste SP, the transient test-based techniques (TTBTs) have been identified as the most suitable approach for fault detection. As described in [2], historically, Smart Pigging, Acoustic Monitoring, Remotely Operated Vehicles, and diving constitute the foundational methods for pipeline inspection. Each of these techniques is marked by significant costs and certain limitations, e.g., [3][4][5][6][7][8].…”

“…The aim of the subsequent maneuvers was to restore the normal operating conditions. As mentioned in our companion paper [2], TTBTs are based on the analysis of the dynamics of transients in pressurized flows, in particular on the interaction of the pressure waves with the anomalies. Precisely, when pressure waves inserted into the pipeline encounter an anomaly, they are reflected partially back, allowing the anomaly to be identified and localized from the characteristics of the reflected pressure wave and its arrival time in the measurement sections.…”

Performance Assessment of Pneumatic-Driven Automatic Valves to Improve Pipeline Fault Detection Procedure by Fast Transient Tests

“…At the same time, to avoid the generation of large overpressures, the pre-transient mean velocity must be adequately small. As a consequence, small-diameter valves are used whether the pressure wave is generated by the Portable Pressure Wave Maker (PPWM) [ 42 ] or a side discharge valve [ 43 ]. Although manually operated valves can be an option, after checking the ease of the manoeuvre and therefore the speed, pneumatic-driven automatic valves are the most commonly used devices in this regard.…”

An Improved Identification Method of Pipeline Leak Using Acoustic Emission Signal

“…Over more than half a century of development, both the technology and theory of acoustic emission have significantly improved and found extensive applications in various industries, such as civil engineering, petrochemicals, aerospace, and marine engineering [25][26][27][28][29][30][31], indicating a promising future. Meniconi, S et al [32,33] innovatively proposed a transient analysis method for fault diagnosis of underwater pipelines, which holds significant implications for the advancement of SHM techniques. Grabec I [34] simulated burst-type and continuous-type acoustic emission signals through experiments on aluminum strips and suggested that time delay estimation using the correlation method is feasible, laying the groundwork for subsequent applications of acoustic emission in pipeline leak detection.…”