Cost Effective Remote Magnetic Inspection of Pipelines. Case Study

Abstract This article presents a technology for Remote Magnetic Inspections (RMI) of pipelines based on the Villari effect. The technology consists of a measuring device, a magnetic field and a software package. The paper presents general description of technology, some procedure and recommendation for technology method, and it is advantages comparison to other methods. The results of the pilot jobs showed a correlation with conventional inspection of the pipeline after excavation at the few pits. Remote magnetic inspection is faster and cheaper than other conventional methods. The company has developed a new remote magnetic inspection tool with GNSS sensor that allow to detect anomalies with better accuracy, also company develop new software that use artificial intelligence to process the data faster and with better results. Several pilot works were carried out, which showed the correlation of the data with direct measurements of pipeline after excavation of the pit. Diagnostics proceed as follows. The operator walks along the pipe and measures the change of the magnetic field in places where there are defects in the pipeline, the magnetic field is distorted, and the defects and anomalies can be determined. All data is registered at the software and processed using artificial intelligence. The customer receives a final report with a map of anomalies, each anomaly categorized by 3 categories (normal, critical and supercritical). After that client prioritize pipeline fixing activity. This technology can be used where in-line inspection cannot be carried out; in addition, this technology is several times cheaper than in-pipe inspection, and it does not require preparation and shutdown of the pipeline. New equipment allows pipeline inspections to be carried out faster (up to 50 km per day when using drones), cheaper and without stopping pipelines.