Optimal locations for non-destructive inspections to verify direct assessment of internally corroded pipelines

Abstract

This paper introduces a method for risk-based inspection planning based on maximizing the value of information (VOI) to select optimal verification sites for validating the results of direct assessment (DA) of internally corroded pipelines. The proposed method improves existing industry practices for DA, which are not risk-based. The effect of different corrosion growth assumptions on the VOI and optimal inspection strategies is investigated. The results show that different corrosion growth assumptions lead to different optimal verification sites. They also demonstrate that the proposed model is effective at facilitating the selection of optimal verification sites and for improved decisions regarding maintenance actions for internally-corroded pipelines.