INTEGRITY ASSESSMENT

Pipelines can experience many forms of damage during their life, ranging from damage introduced at the time of manufacturing and construction, through to in-service damage due to corrosion or external interference. To establish the short- and long-term integrity of damaged pipelines, it is important to assess if the damage affects the integrity of the pipeline under the given loading conditions.

Defect assessment requires a structured and systematic approach. IPMC Integrity have extensive expertise and experience in assessing a wide variety of different types of pipeline and pressure vessels defects and of applying defect assessment methods to the problems of defining inspection strategies, pipeline design and pipeline uprating. We have developed the Pipeline Defect Assessment Manual (PDAM) which defines best practice. We have also been involved in the development of new, advanced defect assessment methods.

IPMC Integrity can carry out pipeline integrity assessments for defects reported by all inspection methods, including:

• Corrosion defects.
• Dents.
• Weld defects.
• Manufacturing defects.
• Crack like defects.
• Thermal buckling.
• Spans.
• Exposures.
• Lateral displacement (due to anchors, ground movement, etc.).

In addition to this we can combine defect assessment with corrosion rate predictions to determine remaining life which in term can be used to look at repairs, inhibition, down-rating, cleaning and replacement as remaining life optimisation strategies.

Our services

• Finess of Purpose Studies (FFP).
• Remaining life studies.
• Remaining life optimisation studies.