With this “short list” of dents and/or dent-like anomalies, NDT Global’s team of experts look at the data through a few, targeted lenses intended to inform an operator’s dent mitigation and remediation plans. The first insight we produce is regarding the dent’s failure pressure. With an understanding of failure pressure, it’s possible to predict a range of future maximum operating pressure growth beyond which pipeline failure can occur. In addition, we analyze inspection data to observe where the asset is in its fatigue life; when compared to this estimation, it’s possible to predict a range of time within which a dent in the asset can cause the premature end of an operation’s useful life.

The types of integrity assessments needed before plans can be solidified are based on a number of factors including things like the physical location of the pipeline in question, immediate integrity, future integrity, the presence of coincidental features, and pipeline manufacturing methodology. These factors should be combined with predicted failure rate and maximum operating pressure to inform remediation plans that will maximize an asset’s safety, throughput, and profitability.

While establishing the rough condition of a dent at the beginning of a dent characterization assessment is important, it becomes critical to get the highest resolution picture of its size, depth, orientation, and the condition of its ability to endure high pressure as these observations move closer to causing real-world actions.

Coincidental and interacting features do not necessarily make them more injurious. For example, a dent that interacts with another dent (or a weld, or a gouge, or a crack, etc.) doesn’t necessarily make the dent or its interacting features more threatening to pipeline operations. These interactions can increase their potential injuriousness, but it’s not a foregone conclusion. As a result, these features are analyzed individually and in combination with one another. If an individual or combination assessment yields a result that doesn’t negatively impact dent failure pressure or fatigue life according to standards like those in API 579, then they’re not considered threats within the RP standard for safety. Alternatively, if any dent or associated threat does exceed safety standards set forth in API 579, then additional assessments will be required to maximize operational efficiency, safety, and dependability.

When characterizing dents in a pipeline’s construction, geometric differences found in welds are just as critical as those introduced by manufacturing or by third parties. While welds are critical to remediating features of every kind – including dents – their introduction can negatively impact dent failure pressure and fatigue life. Characteristics like the weld’s orientation, axial, or circumferential position relative to the dent’s deepest location, and the weld type all introduce incremental risk into an asset’s long-term viability. As a result, the same rigor applied to inspecting any change in the makeup of an operation’s pipe walls should be applied to dent-related welds. It’s always best to ensure that a solution accomplishes it goals instead of inadvertently exacerbating the dent threat attempting to be fixed. Contact us today to learn more about our dent profile characterization assessment.