Monitoring Bending and Buckling of Long Pipelines due to Environmental Effects

Monitoring Bending and Buckling of Long Pipelines due to Environmental Effects

Type	Journal Article
Author	Raghied Atta
Author	Naseer Ahmad
URL	Free Full Text: http://www.lifesciencesite.com/lsj/life1106/068_24676life110614_486_490.pdf
Volume	11
Issue	6
Publication	Life Science Journal
Date	2014
Abstract	Pipeline systems are widely used for distribution and transportation of petroleum, natural gas, water, and sewage. Pipeline operators face many threats to the integrity of pipelines. These include buckling and bending of the pipelines due to temperature changes, internal pressure or ground movement. Different types of sensors are used to monitor the stress in different directions of the pipe walls which include acoustic sensors, optical fiber sensors and strain gauges. In this paper a multi-node wireless sensor network that is distributed along the longitudinal axis of the pipeline is proposed. Bidirectional strain gauges connected to each node of the network measures the hoop and axial stresses along the pipeline. The data collected from each node is wirelessly transmitted through the network and processed at the receiving node. The data from individual nodes will be used to calculate the expansion due to internal pressure and temperature change, whereas the combined data from various strain gauges will be used to calculate the bending in pipe due to ground movement.