Pure Technologies : THE WORLD WATCHES AS EVIDES INVITES 14 GLOBAL UTILITIES TO WITNESS TWO INNOVATIVE PIPELINE INSPECTION TECHNOLOGIES

It was a perfect day for an inspection.

Under a crisp blue sky, in the polders along a major motorway near Rotterdam, more than 40 water professionals from The Netherlands, Australia and the UK gathered to witness a unique project undertaken by the water utility Evides Watercompany. The purpose of the project was to showcase two innovative pipeline inspection technologies from Pure Technologies (Pure), including the acoustic-based SmartBall leak detection tool and electromagnetics (PureEM™) incorporated on the 24-sensor PipeDiver platform.

As the second-largest water utility in the Netherlands, Evides was open to exploring new ways to reduce risks and extend the service life of their underground infrastructure.

The project also offered the opportunity for 14 of the most forward utilities from around the world to share experiences and learn about innovative technologies used to assess and address large-diameter pipelines. The utilities included:

• From Australia: Yarra Valley Water, Seq Water, Unity Water, Gold Coast Water, Water Corporation, Sun Water, SA Water
• From the United Kingdom: Severn Trent Water, Anglian Water, Welsh Water
• From the Netherlands: Waternet, Vitens, WML, PWN, Evides Watercompany

Inspected large-diameter steel pipeline runs along critical highway

The Evides TL2.60 pipeline is a cement-lined 800mm (31.5 inch) steel pipe, with 2.8 kilometers (1.7 miles) of the inspected pipeline running along an important highway connecting Rotterdam to The Hague. The transmission pipeline was selected for its criticality and some operational challenges that Evides wanted to address, including the presence of an inline butterfly valve that precluded other inspection tools from performing at this trial.

Prior to inspection, Evides created a series of predetermined defects made on a specific pipe segment in a research environment. The objective was to validate the tool against a range of known defects in a pipe with the same characteristics as the pipe inspected. During this process, all defects within the stated sensitivity were detected by PipeDiver at the precise location, providing confidence for the upcoming live inspection.

SmartBall leak detection tool deployed during first demonstration

For a demonstration of its leak detection technologies, and to confirm flow rates for the PipeDiver survey, Pure first deployed SmartBall, a free-flowing acoustic tool used to locate leaks and gas pockets in pressurized pipelines.

The free-flowing SmartBall tool traversed the pipeline with ease, and the review of the acoustic data showed no leaks or air pockets.

24-detector PipeDiver launches with eager anticipation and high expectation

Next, all eyes were on the launch of Pure's 24D PipeDiver tool, scheduled for the first of three identical runs, designed for data redundancy.

PipeDiver is a flexible, free-swimming condition assessment tool for pressurized water and wastewater pipelines. The video-equipped tool is ideal for critical pipelines that cannot be removed from service due to lack of redundancy or operational constraints.

Unlike more restrictive assessment tools, PipeDiver is a neutrally buoyant tool that flows with the product and easily navigates through most butterfly valves, tees and bends in the pipeline, delivering electromagnetic (EM) data for a variety of pipe type and materials.

24D PipeDiver tool developed for locating corrosion on metallic pipe

While the PipeDiver tool has traditionally been deployed on prestressed concrete pipe to identify and locate broken prestressing wire wraps, the 24-detector PipeDiver has been specifically developed for metallic pipelines. For the Evides inspection, the PipeDiver tool with 24 electromagnetic sensors was used to locate and identify steel pipes with anomalies associated with corrosion or reduced wall thickness.

This Evides inspection marked the first condition assessment of metallic pipe using the 24D PipeDiver in Europe, an exercise that confirmed the validity of the tool's sensor technology and validate once more the effectiveness of the platform to inspect pipelines.

High definition camera records passage for all invitees to watch

Because the inspection exercise had so many invited utilities invested in the outcome, Evides provided inline cameras parked at both the butterfly valve and extraction point to record in real-time the passage of the PipeDiver. Thanks to the cameras, the world could watch.

The insertions went off without a hitch, and the PipeDiver sailed through the pipeline obstacle course with ease, gathering EM data along the route. Bart Bergmans, Project Manager, Infrastructure Asset Management for Evides explains:

'PipeDiver proved to be a suitable tool for one of our most important inspection needs: corrosion of cement lined steel pipes. We are especially glad the tool was able to pass a butterfly valve, and to be inserted and extracted through 600mm manholes, as this greatly improves operability and cost effectiveness.'

Results support long-term asset management decisions

Of the approximately 237 pipe sections inspected during the real inspection, four pipes were identified with anomalies indicative of cylinder wall loss, ranging between 30 percent and 60 percent. The wall loss defects ranged from 10.8 to 37.7 cubic centimetres (0.64 to 2.30 cubic inches). No leaks or air pockets were detected.

After the inspection, three out of the four locations were dug-up to verify the reported defects, using non-destructive ultrasonic techniques. On each of the locations, the defects were found, and the actual material loss was in the range of the reported material loss.

Overall, the results proved the worth of PipeDiver as an advanced condition assessment tool able to deliver precise, actionable data on metallic pipes. The exercise showed the PipeDiver tool as a cost-effective solution versus methods that have operational constraints or require a shutdown or dewatering, or in this case, taken out of service.

'This inspection and related validations have shown that PipeDiver is able to deliver results that allow for well-founded replacement decision making of large-diameter, cement coated, steel pipelines.'

Using pipeline condition assessment platform like the PipeDiver tool can help utilities like Evides to support long-term asset management decisions on their underground infrastructure. The water world couldn't agree more.