Development of a Portable Electro-mechanical Crack Monitoring Device for Pipeline Steel Materials

The pipeline infrastructure, particularly in Nigeria face significant challenges arising from defects such as cracks, which could lead to unforeseen leakage of flammable materials, risks to human and aquatic lives and could result in the loss of valuable petroleum products. This paper presents the development of a portable electromechanical device powered by lithium-ion batteries for monitoring surface pipelines for cracks, facilitating timely maintenance to prevent adverse consequences. The device is equipped with two types of electronic sensors mounted on a mobile platform that transmits data to a laptop via microcontrollers (Arduino Nano) and a USB cable. The casing of the device was constructed using polyvinyl chloride modeling board. Three tests were carried out on a 0.75 cm thick test pipe with 21 cm external diameter: No-crack test, initiated crack test, and covered crack test. Operating at 15 cm/s, the device transmitted surface condition data in real-time. The results showed no significant spikes during the no-crack and covered crack tests, while the cracked pipe test revealed spikes of 0.5 cm at positions 20 cm, 29 cm, and 38 cm along the pipe. The tractive analysis of the device indicated a net tractive force of 4.11 N and a slip value of 0.03, confirming effective movement without skidding. This study demonstrated that the developed device is reliable for pipeline monitoring and can significantly contribute to the maintenance of pipeline structures.