Pipeline inspection and investigation
Pipeline inspection and investigation is necessary to provide data for assessment of the condition of a pipeline or network. It is expensive and operationally disruptive so must be planned with a clear focus on obtaining the necessary data in the most cost-effective and least disruptive manner. We operate with a simple maxim: “As much as necessary, as little as possible.”
In pressure pipes especially, the data required differs according to the pipe material, and so does the inspection method. There are inspection methods for all pipe materials and they must be chosen carefully.
We select and specify pipe inspections based on:
- Optimised inspection to obtain data for condition assessment.
- Minimum disruption to operations and community.
- Investigation methods driven by the data we need to identify and quantify:
- Wall thickness & corrosion
- Cracks & fractures
- Infiltration/Inflow
- Deformation
- Leaks
- Joint defects
- Prestressing wire breaks
- Loss of stiffness (AC pipe)
- Coating & lining defects
- Pipe material properties
- Soil & groundwater characteristics
- Cathodic protection characteristics
We have specified and worked with data from a wide range of inspection technologies:
Internal inspection:
- CCTV & visual
- Ultrasonic
- Sonar
- Laser & LIDAR profiling
- Wall stiffness testing
- Electromagnetic (magnetic flux leakage; eddy currents)
- Acoustic wave velocity
- FELL
- Gyroscopic mapping
- RFEC-TC (PCC pipe)
- Acoustic resonance
- PPR (pipe penetrating radar)
External investigation:
- Ultrasonic
- Guided Wave
- Electromagnetic
- Acoustic
- GPR
- Current magnetometry
- Wave impedance
- Electrical potential surveys
- Electrical coating defects surveys
- Soil resistivity
