Cloud application 'predicts' residual life of pipes

The condition or exact location of much existing pipeline infrastructure in our country is not or only partially known. HDM Pipelines specializes in geographic mapping of these assets, providing a risk inventory and evaluation and even setting up a complete asset management system. With the recently launched cloud application i2Pipe®, the underground infrastructure consultancy goes one step further, even predicting the residual life of pipelines. 

In the 1970s and 1980s, an awful lot of pipelines were laid in the Netherlands. "What we find is that many of our customers (read: pipeline owners and operators) are struggling with an outdated pipeline system," says Henry van der Bij, technical director of HDM Pipelines. "Many of these pipelines are approaching the end of their service life in the coming decades. We are on the eve of an extensive replacement task. A concrete view of the critical points of the many thousands of kilometers of obsolete pipelines as well as an indication of the remaining lifespan could make this operation a bit more bearable. That is precisely the insight we offer with i2Pipe®.

Residual life 

HDM Pipelines has specialized in mapping pipelines and providing risk inventories for many years. "Until recently, that was done mostly manually," says Van der Bij. "At some point we decided to automate those processes. From that, i2Pipe® was born. A cloud application that has been set up over the past two years and has also been extensively tested in practice. i2Pipe® enables us to perform automated calculations for a thorough risk analysis based on GIS. That is, the map visualizes the risk profile and where in the piping system any bottlenecks are located. The calculations are based on NEN3650 with additions from Comsima. The latter calculates the stress in the pipeline and the angular displacement of the connection. We also use our own degradation model, built up from many years of experience with inline inspections. This means that with i2Pipe® we can also give an indication of the expected residual life. And where (in the future) corrective measures may need to be implemented to extend the residual life. That predictive function is truly unique in the market."

With i2Pipe®, HDM Pipelines answers a pipeline owner's most important questions: where are any bottlenecks located, when do corrective measures need to be taken, what will it cost and in what time period? Through the online portal, pipeline owners and operators have a grip on the management and maintenance of all their pipeline systems.