Author: PRCI
PRCI recently received notice from the US DOT PHMSA of an award of a contract and R&D funding for the development of a test facility and qualification processes for the evaluation and enhancement of in-line inspection technology (ILI) for the pipeline industry. This US DOT PHMSA - PRCI cooperative research program will draw upon the expertise of PRCI's member company subject matter experts (SMEs), including our member company representatives that are ILI technology inspection service providers, to provide a comprehensive evaluation of ILI technology performance. The project will include enhancing current ILI tools and supporting the development of the next generation of technology to support pipeline safety, integrity, and reliability.
A primary focus of the project is the construction of a state of the art, modular pull test facility for evaluating the performance capabilities of many ILI technologies in a controlled setting using a wide range of test samples that contain real world defects and features from formerly in-service pipeline segments that have been contributed to PRCI to support studies conducted as part of R&D programs that focus on inspection technologies. The pull testing will include both improvement (full information testing) and evaluation (blind testing) trials to enhance and improve current ILI technology performance and newtechnology development.
The results of this project will be standardized testing protocols for ILI technology improvement and an understanding of current technology performance. The project will expand knowledge of ILI technology performance and identify gaps where new technology is needed. Additionally, this project will provide a calibration center and test samples for ILI technology developers to consider a range of pipeline features and vintages. The ILI project will rely substantially on the inventory of pipeline test samples retained in Houston, TX at the PRCI NDE Technology Development and Deployment Center (NDE TDC) and is closely linked to the related work on NDE technology qualification and testing, where the test samples used in the ILI evaluations and studies will be accurately characterized, providing a control measurement against which ILI performance can be measured.
The ILI project will be a substantial effort that will have significant impacts to PRCI's member companies and the energy pipeline industry. The project is fundamental to the current work being performed by PRCI that is addressing ILI technology developments and improvements, and is part of the recently completed ILI Roadmap. The project will address conditions outside of the established specifications and more challenging morphologies of features, anomalies, and defects that occur on pipelines. The project will result in the development of a step-by-step procedure for determining true ILI tool performance for features that are both within and outside of the established technology specification. The project will not define ILI technology performance specifications for individual technologies, but rather establish the process and provide the test samples with the appropriate range of features for full qualification and true performance evaluation.
Work was initiated in October 2013, when a kick-off meeting was held with PRCI's Project Team and other invited industry stakeholders.
Questions regarding the ILI program should be directed to Rick McNealy of PRCI at +1 832 392 0245.