Assessing Potential Impacts to Waterways From Small Volume Releases Originating From Facilities or Equipment

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeremy Fontenault ◽  
Tara Franey ◽  
Matt Horn
Keyword(s):  
Land Surface ◽  
Management Program ◽  
Specific Information ◽  
Modeling Tools ◽  
Site Specific ◽  
Specific Data ◽  
Air Temperatures ◽  
Integrity Management ◽  
Equipment Type ◽  
Level Analysis

Abstract The pipeline industry strives for continuous improvement and reaching zero incidents. The risks associated with below grade pipelines are typically assessed in detail as part of operators’ pipeline integrity management program. However, the level of risk associated with above grade facilities and equipment is often not investigated to the same level. As part of an effort, with an anonymous pipeline operator, to refine the calculated risks associated with these facilities and valve sites, a focus was made on enhancing the consequence calculations with more accurate site-specific information. An approach was developed to assess whether smaller volume releases from these locations may impact nearby waterways following a release. The operator identified 150 sites throughout North America where releases had the potential to contaminate a waterbody. In order to confirm/disprove this potential impact to water, hypothetical releases of multiple hydrocarbon products were simulated using oil spill modeling tools to assess the potential overland and downstream transport and fates of the released products. Hypothetical release scenarios were simulated until all of the modeled oil had been released and had either adhered to the land surface, filled a depression in the land surface, and/or evaporated to the atmosphere; or when oil was predicted to enter a perennial waterbody (stream or lake). The goal was to assess the potential for each release to reach a waterbody. A single release was simulated for each site based on a historical maximum volume for a release associated with the specific equipment type (e.g. valves) that could be released over a 24-hour period. Releases were simulated using conditions selected to produce reasonable, conservative results to maximize the potential for the largest volume of oil to enter a waterbody. These conditions were based on the spring season, where rivers and streams would be under some of the highest flow conditions, intermittent streams and waterbodies would contain water feeding larger water bodies, cool air temperatures would reduce evaporative losses, and no snow cover maximize overland transport. This screening level analysis allowed for identification of each location’s potential to reach a nearby waterbody under the conservative set of conditions and assumptions. By eliminating sites where oil would not reach a waterbody, the operator was able to focus efforts on the highest consequence areas in order to complete more detailed field-level analysis. In regard to spill modeling, more detailed analyses could be conducted in the future to predict the range of possible outcomes from other types of releases and using more site-specific and season-specific data. As an example, slower releases/leak rates, enhanced evaporative losses, a range of environmental conditions, and/or losses to infiltration could be assessed to bound the range of potential impacts.

Deriving a construct from site specific data: a knowledge level analysis

1992 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 163-176
Author(s):  
Anastasios Dimitropoulos
Keyword(s):  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
Expert Systems ◽  
Engineering Design ◽  
Qualitative Reasoning ◽  
Knowledge Level ◽  
Site Specific ◽  
Specific Data ◽  
Two Phases ◽  
Qualitative Phase ◽  
Level Analysis

In wood engineering design, an important task is the derivation of a construct from site specific data. Human experts perform the task in two phases, first qualitatively and then quantitatively in a hierarchical fashion. COWEN (Computer Wood ENgineer) is a fully implemented research prototype expert system that performs the qualitative phase and makes two contributions to the technology of expert systems. The first contribution is a Knowledge Level specification of the task prior to considering Symbol Level implementation. This is important because expert systems have been defined as mostly symbolic processors in the literature. The second contribution is that this Knowledge Level specification has led to the conclusion that additional qualitative sciences, besides physics and geometry, are needed for an engineering task. This is an interesting discovery because qualitative reasoning research in Artificial Intelligence (AI) has approached engineering design from the viewpoints of physics and geometry only.

Application of private site-specific data to regional evaluation of earthquake and faulting potential in Southern California

1982 ◽  
Author(s):  
D.L. Lamar ◽  
J. L. Smith ◽  
J. W. La Violette ◽  
K. Custis ◽  
P.J. Scrivner
Keyword(s):  
Southern California ◽  
Site Specific ◽  
Specific Data

The Role of Offshore Monitoring in an Effective Deepwater Riser Integrity Management Program

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brittany Goldsmith ◽  
Elizabeth Foyt ◽  
Madhu Hariharan
Keyword(s):  
Failure Modes ◽  
Human Life ◽  
Management Program ◽  
Measured Data ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Environmental Damage ◽  
Positioning Systems ◽  
Integrity Management ◽  
Deepwater Riser

As offshore field developments move into deeper water, one of the greatest challenges is in designing riser systems capable of overcoming the added risks of more severe environments, complicated well requirements and uncertainty of operating conditions. The failure of a primary riser component could lead to unacceptable consequences, including environmental damage, lost production and possible injury or loss of human life. Identification of the risks facing riser systems and management of these risks are essential to ensure that riser systems operate without failure. Operators have recognized the importance of installing instrumentation such as global positioning systems (GPS), vessel motion measurement packages, wind and wave sensors and Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) units to monitor vessel motions and environmental conditions. Additionally, high precision monitoring equipment has been developed for capturing riser response. Measured data from these instruments allow an operator to determine when the limits of acceptable response, predicted by analysis or determined by physical limitations of the riser components, have been exceeded. Regular processing of measured data through automated routines ensures that integrity can be quickly assessed. This is particularly important following extreme events, such as a hurricane or loop current. High and medium alert levels are set for each parameter, based on design analysis and operating data. Measured data is compared with these alert levels, and when an alert level is reached, further response evaluation or inspection of the components in question is recommended. This paper will describe the role of offshore monitoring in an integrity management program and discuss the development of alert levels based on potential failure modes of the riser systems. The paper will further demonstrate how this process is key for an effective integrity management program for deepwater riser systems.

scholarly journals Malarial parasites as geographical markers in migratory birds?

2006 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 213-216 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sylvia M Fallon ◽  
Robert C Fleischer ◽  
Gary R Graves
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Migratory Birds ◽  
Wide Distribution ◽  
Specific Information ◽  
Population Movements ◽  
Site Specific ◽  
Dendroica Caerulescens ◽  
Bird Populations ◽  
Breeding Populations ◽  
Wintering Range

We tested the hypothesis that malarial parasites ( Plasmodium and Haemoproteus ) of black-throated blue warblers ( Dendroica caerulescens ) provide sufficient geographical signal to track population movements between the warbler's breeding and wintering habitats in North America. Our results from 1083 warblers sampled across the species' breeding range indicate that parasite lineages are geographically widespread and do not provide site-specific information. The wide distribution of malarial parasites probably reflects postnatal dispersal of their hosts as well as mixing of breeding populations on the wintering range. When compared to geographically structured parasites of sedentary Caribbean songbirds, patterns of malarial infections in black-throated blue warblers suggest that host–malaria dynamics of migratory and sedentary bird populations may be subject to contrasting selection pressures.

Integrity Management of Ground Movement Hazards

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yong-Yi Wang ◽  
Don West ◽  
Douglas Dewar ◽  
Alex McKenzie-Johnson ◽  
Millan Sen
Keyword(s):  
Management Program ◽  
Ground Movement ◽  
Tensile Failure ◽  
Weld Strength ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Ground Movements ◽  
Decision Points ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Integrity Management ◽  
Girth Welds

Ground movements, such as landslides and subsidence/settlement, can pose serious threats to pipeline integrity. The consequence of these incidents can be severe. In the absence of systematic integrity management, preventing and predicting incidents related to ground movements can be difficult. A ground movement management program can reduce the potential of those incidents. Some basic concepts and terms relevant to the management of ground movement hazards are introduced first. A ground movement management program may involve a long segment of a pipeline that may have a threat of failure in unknown locations. Identifying such locations and understanding the potential magnitude of the ground movement is often the starting point of a management program. In other cases, management activities may start after an event is known to have occurred. A sample response process is shown to illustrate key considerations and decision points after the evidence of an event is discovered. Such a process can involve fitness-for-service (FFS) assessment when appropriate information is available. The framework and key elements of FFS assessment are explained, including safety factors on strain capacity. The use of FFS assessment is illustrated through the assessment of tensile failure mode. Assessment models are introduced, including key factors affecting the outcome of an assessment. The unique features of girth welds in vintage pipelines are highlighted because the management of such pipelines is a high priority in North America and perhaps in other parts of the worlds. Common practice and appropriate considerations in a pipeline replacement program in areas of potential ground movement are highlighted. It is advisable to replace pipes with pipes of similar strength and stiffness so the strains can be distributed as broadly as possible. The chemical composition of pipe steels and the mechanical properties of the pipes should be such that the possibility of HAZ softening and weld strength undermatching is minimized. In addition, the benefits and cost of using the workmanship flaw acceptance criteria of API 1104 or equivalent standards in making repair and cutout decisions of vintage pipelines should be evaluated against the possible use of FFS assessment procedures. FFS assessment provides a quantifiable performance target which is not available through the workmanship criteria. However, necessary inputs to perform FFS assessment may not be readily available. Ongoing work intended to address some of the gaps is briefly described.

Implementation of a Pipeline Integrity Management System at TIGF (France): The Added Value of the Pipeline Threats and Mitigations Module

2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karine Kutrowski ◽  
Rob Bos ◽  
Jean-Re´gis Piccardino ◽  
Marie Pajot
Keyword(s):  
Management System ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Oil And Gas Industry ◽  
Management Plan ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Added Value ◽  
Specific Information ◽  
Transmission Grid ◽  
Integrity Management ◽  
Corrective Actions

On January 4th 2007 TIGF published the following invitation for tenders: “Development and Provision of a Pipeline Integrity Management System”. The project was awarded to Bureau Veritas (BV), who proposed to meet the requirements of TIGF with the Threats and Mitigations module of the PiMSlider® suite extended with some customized components. The key features of the PiMSlider® suite are: • More than only IT: a real integrity philosophy, • A simple intuitive tool to store, display and update pipeline data, • Intelligent search utilities to locate specific information about the pipeline and its surrounding, • A scalable application, with a potentially unlimited number of users, • Supervision (during and after implementation) by experienced people from the oil and gas industry. This paper first introduces TIGF and the consortium BV – ATP. It explains in a few words the PIMS philosophy captured in the PiMSlider® suite and focuses on the added value of the pipeline Threats and Mitigations module. Using this module allows the integrity analyst to: • Prioritize pipeline segments for integrity surveillance purposes, • Determine most effective corrective actions, • Assess the benefits of corrective actions by means of what-if scenarios, • Produce a qualitative threats assessment for further use in the integrity management plan, • Optimize integrity aspects from a design, maintenance and operational point of view, • Investigate the influence of different design criteria for pipeline segments. To conclude, TIGF presents the benefits of the tool for their Integrity Management department and for planning inspection and for better knowledge of their gas transmission grid.

Testing of Acoustic Emission Technology to Detect Cracks and Corrosion in the Marine Environment

2010 ◽  
Vol 26 (02) ◽  
pp. 106-110
Author(s):  
Ge Wang ◽  
Michael Lee ◽  
Chris Serratella ◽  
Stanley Botten ◽  
Sam Ternowchek ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Acoustic Emission ◽  
Structural Integrity ◽  
Pilot Project ◽  
Development Project ◽  
Management Program ◽  
Pipeline System ◽  
Inspection Planning ◽  
Structural Degradation ◽  
Integrity Management ◽  
Acoustic Emission Technology

Real-time monitoring and detection of structural degradation helps in capturing the structural conditions of ships. The latest nondestructive testing (NDT) and sensor technologies will potentially be integrated into future generations of the structural integrity management program. This paper reports on a joint development project between Alaska Tanker Company, American Bureau of Shipping (ABS), and MISTRAS. The pilot project examined the viability of acoustic emission technology as a screening tool for surveys and inspection planning. Specifically, testing took place on a 32-year-old double-hull Trans Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS) trade tanker. The test demonstrated the possibility of adapting this technology in the identification of critical spots on a tanker in order to target inspections. This targeting will focus surveys and inspections on suspected areas, thus increasing efficiency of detecting structural degradation. The test has the potential to introduce new inspection procedures as the project undertakes the first commercial testing of the latest acoustic emission technology during a tanker's voyage.

Value of site-specific information for the design of offshore wind farms

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jorge Mendoza Espinosa ◽  
Jochen Köhler
Keyword(s):  
Safety Margin ◽  
Wind Farms ◽  
Offshore Wind ◽  
Offshore Wind Turbine ◽  
Specific Information ◽  
Offshore Wind Farms ◽  
Site Specific ◽  
A Value ◽  
Probabilistic Characterization ◽  
Clear Guideline

<p>Monopiles are the most common offshore wind turbine support structures. They are to be designed so that resonance with the rotor-passing excitation is avoided. However, the estimation of the eigenfrequencies is strongly influenced by the soil-structure interaction, whose characterization with prior information is associated with large uncertainties. No clear guideline is given regarding the safety margin to be left between the structure first natural frequency and the excitation regions. In this paper, the expected consequences of leaving a certain margin are studied and quantified. The decisions regarding the investment in site-specific characterization are coupled into the decision scenario by means of a value of information analysis. The results provide insight on the efficient allocation of resources at the design point in time and the sensitivity of the decisions regarding the probabilistic characterization of the design scenario.</p>

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document