The operating system for pipeline integrity
INGU’s Pipers® solution pairs a baseball-sized free-floating multi-sensor system with AI- powered data analytics and a GIS Pipeline viewer. The Pipers® solution accurately identifies and locates potential issues such as leaks, deposits, and changes in the pipeline wall that threaten pipeline health. Pipers® are suitable for all pipelines, independent of pipeline diameter and material, and are certified to be used while the pipeline is in operation. The information provided allows you to prioritize when and where action is needed to keep your pipelines operating safely and reliably.
Full visibility in a single inspection
Pipers® is a one-solution-fits-all approach. In a single inspection, data is gathered on a broad range of safety and performance aspects of the pipeline. This makes the Pipers® the ideal tool to support the decision making in pipeline safety programs.
An overview of the services is given in the following table:
Pipers® ‘listen’ for leaks while flowing through the pipeline. Because the Pipers® are free-floating, there is limited to no background noise, making the Pipers® an ultra-sensitive leak detection tool. To put it simply, if you can hear the leak, Pipers® can.
Particularly in high-consequence areas like river crossings, road crossings, and pipelines passing through or under lakes, Pipers® are the go-to solution to pinpoint the leaks.
The smallest verified leak size is 0.029 ± 0.001 GPM (0.11 ± 0.004 L/min).
Pipers® take 100 pressure measurements per second while moving through the pipeline allowing for accurate deposit localization.
Using the fact that the change in pressure over distance is a function of pipeline roughness and diameter, a highly accurate deposit profile can be derived from the pressure information.
When combined with off-the-shelf cleaning pigs, Pipers® provide an overview of the bend angle, radius, and direction for all bends.
If you want to determine if a line can be inspected by a conventional inline inspection tool (smart pig), Pipers® will provide you with the required information.
Pipers® measure the magnetic flux density (MFD) inside of pipelines using one or multiple passive tri-axial magnetic flux sensors. In the analysis process of ferromagnetic pipelines, welds and spools are identified.
Welds are automatically identified using a neural network and the location of the identified welds is reported in the pipe tally. The main part of the Pipers® MFD analysis is focused around characterizing the spools. Spools with a different magnetic flux density compared to surrounding spools are identified as outlier spools. These outlier spools are then labeled with the most probable cause, e.g. metal loss, external features (hot taps, anodes, casings, …), and stress, all with a severity and probability (where applicable).
INGU Pipeline Viewer
As part of the inspection deliverables, the results from a Pipers® pipeline inspection can be presented in the INGU Pipeline viewer. An interactive geographic information system (GIS) environment that shows the inspection results on a satellite map.
The pipeline path including the launch and receive locations will be marked. Depending on the pipeline inspection service selected, also joints, bends, leaks, air pockets, metal loss, hot taps, etc… will be marked. Clicking on a marker will provide specific information for that marker. The pipe tally can also be downloaded.
It is also possible to upload other inspection data and see the comparison in the Pipeline viewer. And full visibility across your pipeline assets equals comprehensive insight and control.
Benefits
Self-serve system
Maximum control to deploy when and where needed
100% uptime
Designed for use under operational conditions
Access to all pipelines
Effectively assess any pipeline diameter and material
10x cost advantage
Affordability and ease of use means more visibility more often
Multi sensor inspections
Information about leaks, deposits, and changes in the pipeline wall in a single run
Rich datasets library
Leverage historical data for unprecedented analysis