Protocol for Water Pipeline Failure and Forensic Data Analysis

Abstract

The key to implementing infrastructure asset management strategies is to have a comprehensive understanding of the asset performance, and how this performance changes over time. The rate of deterioration of pipes is affected by a number of factors. Although there are many condition assessment technologies and accelerated testing methods available, these techniques do not provide all of the required data on the factors effecting deterioration. Earlier efforts have been made to capture data on pipe failure and as described in the literature, these data have been used to develop of some prediction models. However, failure data alone are limited in terms of understanding pipeline deterioration. Forensic analyses of pipe samples extracted while in service as well as after failure are crucial in acquiring a comprehensive understanding of the rate of deterioration over time. Water sector utilities need feasible and sound protocols to analyze these pipe samples. This paper presents methods and protocols for failure and forensic analyses and collecting data on the deteriorated or failed pipe samples. These proposed protocols contain guidelines on capturing the environmental (soil, groundwater, climate, etc.), and structural (corrosion, fracture, fatigue, etc.) data for drinking water and wastewater pipelines with field and laboratory tests. Furthermore, a Web-based and GIS driven platform called PIPEiD (Pipeline Infrastructure Database) has been developed to collect and share the data produced following these failure and forensic analysis. The objectives of the PIPEiD is to unite the nation's water pipeline infrastructure data and information, to make it universally accessible and useful, and to provide access to the data sources, tools, and models that enable the analysis, simulation, visualization, and evaluation of the behavior of water pipeline infrastructure systems for advanced asset management. PIPEiD is envisioned to be “a Living Database Platform for Advanced Asset Management” addressing all three major asset management levels including strategic, tactical, and operational that will assist drinking water and wastewater utilities of all sizes to sustain targeted levels of service with acceptable risk.