Effects of Varying Boundary Conditions on the Buried Pipelines

Abstract

In this paper, the FORM (first order reliability method) has been employed to estimate the probability of failure for the buried pipeline degraded by corrosion defects. The estimated results are used to assess the reliability of buried pipeline exposed to varying external and internal boundary conditions corresponding to a required target safety level. Furthermore, the effects of distribution types of random variables affecting the strength of buried pipelines on the probability of failure and the reliability of the buried pipeline are systematically investigated. The plant-engineers should be informed about the margin of safety level of existing pipelines corresponding to the target safety level to assess the integrity of the corroded pipeline under operation.