How best practices discussed in ASCE’s MOP 134 are essential to both condition assessment and asset management personnel (Source: Water Finance & Management)
By George Ruchti
In the early morning hours of August 19, 2000, a natural gas transmission pipeline ruptured and ignited in New Mexico killing 12 people camping nearby. The rupture was determined to be the result of internal corrosion of the pipeline. The loss of life and property makes such pipeline condition assessment a critical need with remediation essential. The primary concern in the petroleum industry is electrically continuous butt-welded steel pipe. Inspection devices like smart pigs, with ultrasonic wall thickness testing capability, make it possible to determine the extent of pipe wall corrosion, if any, thus allowing for rehabilitation and future protection. Superior pipeline coatings and the application of cathodic protection have also been advantageous in providing successful asset management programs in that industry.
