There are currently more than 1.6 million miles of oil and gas pipelines crossing the US. Of these, thousands of miles of oil and gas transmission pipelines in operation have no documentation of their mechanical and fracture toughness properties. Section 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) part 192.107 (b) (2) stipulates that for the pipe which is not tensile tested, a yield strength of 165 MPa (24 ksi) must be used in the equation that determines the design pressure of the pipe section. The portable/in-situ SSM system with its nondestructive Automated Ball Indentation^TM (ABI) test technique measures several key mechanical and fracture toughness properties of base metal, welds, and heat-affected-zones. SSM testing of pipelines replaces the destructive and expensive mechanical tests and can reduce pipeline accidents and their environmental damage.

The ability to accurately and quickly measure the actual yield strength values enables our clients to meet increased energy demands utilizing existing pipeline assets by safely up-rating the transmission pressure of oil and gas pipeline. The SSM measurements of the yield strength values are, most of the time, higher than the conservative CFR value of 165 MPa (24 ksi).

The SSM technology helps pipeline companies comply with new regulations for pipeline integrity management. The SSM technology verifies grade certifications (B, X42, X52, X65, etc.) for new or existing pipelines. It also measures the weld over/under match in new construction which is vitally important for pipelines built from the new high strength steels with strain-based designs in arctic or earthquake-prone areas. The Haggag Toughness Method (HTM) for fracture toughness properties allows a deterministic integrity assessment using fracture mechanics analysis, instead of a probabilistic analysis, and quantifying the severity of service induced cracks.

1. "Innovative Nondestructive Method Determines Fracture Toughness of In-Service Pipelines," Proceedings of the International Pipeline Conference, IPC04-0345, Calgary, Canada, Oct. 4-8,2004. (317 kb)

2. "Integrating Automated Ball Indentation with ASME B31G Code to Assess Remaining Integrity of Corroded Pipelines," Proceedings of the International Pipeline Conference, IPC04-0357, Calgary, Canada, Oct. 4-8,2004. (1.25 MB)

3. "In-Service Nondestructive Measurements of Stress-Strain Curves and Fracture Toughness of Oil and Gas Pipelines: Examples of Fitness-for-Purpose Applications." 5th International Conference on Pipeline Rehabilitation & Maintenance, Bahrain, 2002. (1.1MB)

4. "In-Situ Nondestructive Measurements of Key Mechanical Properties of Oil and Gas Pipelines," ASME PVP-Vol 429, 2001, pp. 99-104.(1.5MB)

5. "Nondestructive Determination of Yield Strength and Stress-Strain Curves of In-Service Transmission Pipelines Using Innovative Stress-Strain MicroprobeTM Technology," Final report to Office of Pipeline Safety / Department of Transportation, ATC/DOT/990901, September 1999. (5.7 Mb)

6. Letter from Secretary Rodney Slater of U.S. Department of Transportation (28kb)