Determining influence of natural and man-made factors on safe performance of trunk pipelines

Abstract

The paper discusses the relevance of ensuring environmentally safe pipeline operation by identifying natural and industrial hazards and the potential impact. An operating trunk pipeline running west to east across a specific territory (constituent entity) was given as an example to show areas likely exposed to the most dangerous destructions. These are natural and man-made pipeline crossovers and intersections designated by the authors as ecologically fragile areas (EFAs). For a natural/industrial impact identification methodology, relevant hazards were identified and classified by the exposure degree for each gas pipeline EFA. Given geodynamic changes, the data collected were to be updated after each change. The article outlines the new methodology also suitable for territorial cartographic zoning subject to hazard factors. An area to be affected by degradation processes of an accident is determined by using the radii of thermal impact and scatter of pipe fragments. Such data help compute flora and fauna damage and, for the best scenario, damage prevented. The key points of this survey may be used to developing computer programs to compute an aggregate hazardous impact on an operating pipeline and simulate emergency scenarios. The practical utility consists in assuring proper EFAs monitoring for timely prevention of accidents.