Mechanical Damage

Mechanical damage comes in many forms. Understanding its true nature requires detailed data and nuanced analysis. Ultra-High Resolution (UHR) ILI from ENTEGRA^® helps operators better understand mechanical damage. With our combination of UHR ILI data and human data interpretation, you can avoid unnecessary digs while still spotting serious threats.

What is Mechanical Damage?

Mechanical damage is caused by the application of an external force that deforms the pipe and possibly changes the material structure. This generic term can describe combinations of dents, gouges and/or other cold work. Of course, when it comes to assessing the implications of mechanical damage to your operations, “generic” descriptions aren’t adequate. UHR ILI inspection from ENTEGRA adds specificity to mechanical damage assessment for more actionable information.

Our DA team uses information from multiple datasets plus extensive experience to build critical context to gain POI

Plain dent

Plain dents contain no wall thickness reductions, such as associated metal loss from gouging or corrosion. Plain dents, while typically classified as less immediate, are nonetheless important to detect and monitor. The way we measure plain dents is using UHR CAL data.

Gouge without associated deformation

Gouges occur when metal is mechanically removed from the pipe material, typically caused by third party activity over the pipeline. Gouges are important integrity concerns because the material structure of the pipe is altered and can lead to crack initiation and growth. A gouge without associated deformation is significant because it may be assessed (by others) as if it were simply corrosion. ENTEGRA UHR can identify (POI >90%) a gouge vs corrosion, so that the metal loss can be treated as mechanical damage.

Dent with gouge

Dents with gouges are typically found on top of the pipe and are caused by third party activity over the pipeline, such as an excavation impacting the top of the pipe, directional drilling or a farmer hitting the pipe with a tiling machine.

Dent with coincidental corrosion

In these cases, two anomalies happen to coincide with one another. The UHR ILI process allows identification and analysis of each feature and their cumulative impact.

Identifying Mechanical Damage vs. Corrosion

One of the most crucial distinctions derived from UHR ILI analysis is whether an anomaly is caused by mechanical damage or corrosion. UHR ILI from ENTEGRA is able to differentiate gouge-type metal loss from corrosion-type metal loss, a true advance over competing ILI systems. As a result, operators may be able to avoid or at least postpone unnecessary digs for corrosion issues that are not caused by gouges. The system will identify true gouge-type metal loss threats that call for timely intervention.

It is crucial to have the right technology, and the right team, on your side when assessing these potentially consequential anomalies.