Recent Advances in Pipe Wall Assessment Technology

Most of North America's oldest water mains are constructed of ferrous material, in particular cast iron, ductile iron, and steel. As utilities rarely have funds to replace all of these pipelines at the end of their design life, utilities are forced to carefully target their replacement and rehabilitation budgets. Critical for this targeting of funds is the availability of accurate knowledge of the actual pipeline conditions, in particular assessing the condition of the pipe wall and its impact on the remaining useful life of the pipeline. With this clear and impending need, a variety of technologies are becoming available for pipe wall assessment. This paper details developments and advances over the past two years in several technologies for pipe wall assessment. The results provided by each technology are outlined, as well as how these results can be used to assess progression along the failure paths of various types of pipelines. The tools are grouped in a systematic way, illustrating how they fit into three fundamental philosophies towards condition assessment. Examples of their application are provided for tools advanced beyond the R&D phase.