PHMSA has filed a report to Congress on integrity assessment methods for gas distribution pipelines. The report was mandated by Section 122 of the PIPES Act 2020 which required PHMSA to “study the availability of alternative methods to using direct assessment to assess pipeline integrity.”
Some highlights of the report:
- Robots and crawlers have the most promise for future integrity assessment technology.
- Robots and crawlers are limited by the capabilities of the tools and sensors. The current tools cannot navigate all pipelines due to variations with how gas distribution systems are designed and constructed (number of branches, diameter changes, or other fittings that may obstruct movement).
- Visual inspection of gas distribution pipelines with robots or crawlers is possible for most pipelines, but visual inspection alone does not provide a level of safety equal to or greater than direct assessment.
- Cameras can detect internal features but cannot characterize them.
- Most sensors are designed for detecting defects in steel, but many distribution pipe systems are plastic or other types of materials.
For a copy of the report, please message Jessica Foley.