Problem Solving Forum
September 11 - September 15, 2017
How do you gauge the remaining service life of an aging FBE system on a buried transmission pipeline?
Selected Answers
From
Jithin Narayanan of JGC Corporation on
November 9, 2017:
There is no direct answer for this. There are 2 ca ...read more
There is no direct answer for this. There are 2 cases to be considered here: 1) if this pipeline is cathodically protected and 2) if it is not cathodically protected. If cathodically protected, like all other coating surveys, FBE coated pipelines also should undergo a coating survey like a DCVG survey or similar. If your FBE coating has started deterioration, you are going to get a lot of points where FBE has been damaged. This shall be supported with your visual inspection at a justifiable interval by exposing the buried pipeline. If least number of damages are detected, 1 or 2 locations may be opened and checked to see the physical condition of your FBE. If the pipe is not cathodically protected, there is no other option other than exposing the pipeline at regular intervals and visually verifying the integrity of the coating.
In either case above, a coating sample shall be selected and sent to the laboratory for further analysis. This need is based on the age of coating, reported failures in past, and the severity of buried environment (salts/frequent wetting/extreme climates).