Oil and gas companies often go to very expensive measures to replace pipelines that are in danger of cracking and bursting, but a PhD student in engineering is part of an award-winning team finding ways to better determine how long a cracked pipeline will last in the field.

“This will help the oil industry to make informed decisions on whether or when a cracked segment of pipeline needs to be replaced,” says Hossein Ghaednia, a student in professor Sreekanta Das’s Center for Engineering Research in Pipelines.

Ghaednia recently presented a paper at the International Pipeline Conference in Calgary that finished among the top eight in a student paper competition. Co-authored by Ghaednia, former student Jorge Silva, and Dr. Das, the research detailed in the paper explains a new method of determining the remaining life of a cracked pipe under pressure cycles that an operating oil pipeline in the field actually experiences.

Ghaednia said underground pipes bear various complex loads from geotechnical movements, overburden earth pressure, and pressure from fluid that they transport. Oil and gas companies use inline inspection tools with high-tech ultra-sonic sensors and cameras mounted on them to determine if their pipes have developed cracks or other defects.

Cracks can lead to a disastrous rupture of pipelines, causing huge environmental and financial damages. Since the industry is currently unable to estimate the fatigue life of a cracked pipeline, they often replace the cracked segment right away as a preventative measure, which can be very expensive.

The model Ghaednia described in the paper could help the industry make better-informed decisions on when to take remedial action, Das said.

“Fatigue is something that’s really difficult to estimate,” said Ghaednia. “The way we estimate fatigue is new. It’s an old formula, but no one had ever used it for pipes.”

There were more than 1,300 delegates from industry and academia from all over the world at the conference, and many of them were impressed by the work, Ghaednia said.

“We got really good responses from the audience,” he said. “We got a lot of positive feedback and a lot of interest from various pipeline companies. I’m extremely proud to be part of Dr. Das’s group and I’m happy to contribute to the research and development the pipeline industry is thriving for.”