Structural performance monitoring of buried pipelines using distributed fiber optic sensors

Abstract

In this study, a method involving the use of distributed fiber optic temperature and strain sensors is presented to quantitatively assess the structural performance for buried pipelines by considering both longitudinal bending load and axial thermal load. The monitoring scheme of distributed strain and temperature sensors is proposed based on the pipeline structural analysis, and the assessment approach is formulated using the distributed monitoring data. The time-spatial variation in the bending strain and temperature of the burial pipelines are monitored using distributed fiber optic sensors. The structural performance of the pipeline is then assessed with the monitored data in conjunction with the pipe parameters and internal pressure. A field application was performed on a buried gas pipeline to investigate the availability of the proposed method and the results from the site application demonstrate that the proposed method effectively assesses the structural performance of the burial pipelines with the distributed strain and temperature data.