Service Pipelines Research Articles

Determining the angle of the frontal working surface of the soil-piercing head asymmetrical tip for static soil-piercing

Problem. From the analysis of the technical literature, it was established that among the trenchless technologies for laying underground engineering communications and service pipelines, the technology with the possibility of forming a horizontally directed communication cavity in the soil using soil-piercing installations of static action is the most common. Goal. This method consists in forcefully pressing a soil-piercing working body, which has the form of a conical-cylindrical projectile, into the soil. At the same time, the well is formed by radial extrusion of the soil around the formed well. However, the use of such equipment does not provide high accuracy, which limits its practical application within 20 m. It is not sufficient for modern requirements of creating transitions during the laying of communications. Methodology. One of the ways to improve the efficiency of laying underground networks is to extend this method over a longer distance by correcting the trajectory of the working body. This is achieved by using a soil-piercing head with an asymmetric tip. Due to this, in addition to the axial resistance of the soil, a transverse component force appears, which deflects the head during its advancement in the soil. The question of determining the angle of displacement of such a tip is important in terms of the process control. Results. In the paper, a calculated dependence is proposed for determining the rational value of the angle of inclination of an asymmetric tip working surface, which is a flat plane cut at the angle of a cylinder. An analysis of the dependence of the angle of the working surface inclination on the physical and mechanical properties of the soil is also given. Originality. It was determined that the maximum angle of inclination of the frontal surface is determined by the conditions of soil descent from it. Its maximum value, for example when working in loam, should not exceed 55o-67o for a tip made of steel. Practical value. The obtained calculated dependence can be useful for determining the angle of inclination of the flat frontal surface of the tip of the soil piercing working tool for controlled static soil piercing at the stage of designing networks and choosing an effective method for drilling a well under roads or other obstacles.

A hybrid machine learning model for landslide-oriented risk assessment of long-distance pipelines

Preparation of pipeline risk zoning is essential for pipeline construction and safe operation. Landslides are one of the main sources of risk to the safe operations of oil and gas pipelines in mountainous areas. This work aims to propose a quantitative assessment model of landslide-induced long-distance pipeline risk by analyzing historical landslide hazard data along oil and gas pipelines. Using the Changshou-Fuling-Wulong-Nanchuan (CN) gas pipeline dataset, two independent assessments were carried out: landslide susceptibility assessment and pipeline vulnerability assessment. Firstly, the study combined the recursive feature elimination and particle swarm optimization-AdaBoost method (RFE-PSO-AdaBoost) to develop a landslide susceptibility mapping model. The RFE method was used to select the conditioning factors, while PSO was used to tune the hyper-parameters. Secondly, considering the angular relationship between the pipelines and landslides, and the segmentation of the pipelines using the fuzzy clustering (FC), the CRITIC method (FC-CRITIC) was combined to develop a pipeline vulnerability assessment model. Accordingly, a pipeline risk map was obtained based on pipeline vulnerability and landslide susceptibility assessment. The study results show that almost 35.3% of the slope units were in extremely high susceptibility zones, 6.68% of the pipelines were in extremely high vulnerability areas, the southern and eastern pipelines segmented in the study area were located in high risk areas and coincided well with the distribution of landslides. The proposed hybrid machine learning model for landslide-oriented risk assessment of long-distance pipelines can provide a scientific and reasonable risk classification for new planning or in service pipelines to avoid landslide-oriented risk and ensure their safe operation in mountainous areas.

Approach towards service design process for heritage preservation and sustainability of Bodo Dokhona

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to understand the perception of the local weavers amongst the Bodos, a tribe of the North-east (NE) India. Towards this a concept of a service pipeline process in the field of heritage attire preservation of Bodo Dokhona was focused that would endorse the local weavers' community for its wellbeing and sustainability.Design/methodology/approachThe design approaches have been framed after interactions with the local weavers through a survey conducted for understanding the issues pertaining to weavers. Towards sustaining the Bodo heritage attire Dokhona, a service design pipeline for better management system was developed in three phases. Interactions with the local weavers through survey and validation for its feasibility were undertaken.FindingsThis research paper focuses on publishing innovative survey research and practice related to cultural heritage management of the Bodo traditional wear Dokhona and sustainability conservation of the pipeline process. Therefore, developing both skill and knowledge for the weavers' community of the region.Social implicationsThe design pipeline approach in this paper has been shared with the local weavers' for easy understanding of the step-by-step process of weaving a Dokhona made of eri silk. A progressive Bodo weaver will gain skill training which would lead to weavers' empowerment.Originality/valueDeveloping and documenting an innovative service design approach. In this context, an insight for women empowerment leading to preservation of Bodo heritage is valued.

“Through the looking‐glass …” An empirical study on blob infrastructure blueprints in the Topology and Orchestration Specification for Cloud Applications

AbstractInfrastructure‐as‐code (IaC) helps keep up with the demand for fast, reliable, high‐quality services by provisioning and managing infrastructures through configuration files. Those files ensure efficient and repeatable routines for system provisioning, but they might be affected by code smells that negatively affect quality and code maintenance. Research has broadly studied code smells for traditional source code development; however, none explored them in the “Topology and Orchestration Specification for Cloud Applications” (TOSCA), the technology‐agnostic OASIS standard for IaC. In this paper, we investigate a prominent traditional implementation code smell potentially applicable to TOSCA: Large Class, or “Blob Blueprint” in IaC terms. We compare metrics‐based and unsupervised learning‐based detectors on a large dataset of manually validated observations related to Blob Blueprints. We provide insights on code metrics that corroborate previous findings and empirically show that metrics‐based detectors perform highly in detecting Blob Blueprints. We deem our results put forward a new research path toward dealing with this problem, for example, in the scope of fully automated service pipelines.

Low-Cost Representative Sampling for a Natural Gas Distribution System in Transition.

Natural gas distribution systems within municipalities supply a substantial fraction of energy consumed in the United States. As decarbonization of the natural gas system necessitates new modes of operation outside original design purposes, for example, increased hydrogen or biogas blending, it becomes increasingly important to understand in advance how existing infrastructure will respond to these changes. Such an analysis will require detailed information about the existing asset base, such as local soil composition, plastic type, and other characteristics that are not systematically tracked at present or have substantial missing data. Opportunistic sampling, for example, collecting measurements at assets that are already undergoing maintenance, has the potential to substantially reduce the cost of gathering such data but only if the results are representative of the full asset base. To assess prospects for such an approach, we employ a dataset including the entire service line and leak database from a large natural gas distribution utility (∼66,700 km of service pipelines and over 530,000 leaks over decades of observations). This dataset shows that service lines affected by excavation damage produce an approximately random sample of plastic and steel service lines, with similar distributions of component age, operating pressure, and pipeline diameter, as well as a relatively uniform spatial distribution. This means that opportunistic measurements at these locations will produce a first-order estimate of the relative prevalence of key characteristics across the utility's full asset base of service lines. We employ this approach to estimate the plastic type, which is unknown for roughly 80% of plastic service lines in the database. We also find that while 32% of leaks across all components occur in threaded steel junctions, excavation damage accounts for 75% of hazardous grade 1 leaks in plastic service lines and corrosion accounts for 47% in steel service lines. Insights from this sampling approach can thus help natural gas utilities collect the data they need to ensure a safe and reliable transition to a lower-emission system.

Non-Destructive Evaluation of Hydraulic Conditions in Service Pipeline using Elastic Wave Method

For the effective evaluation of hydraulic conditions of pipeline system, it is necessary to evaluate not only steady flow parameters but also unsteady flow conditions. In this study, quantitative evaluation of stress concentration in model pipeline is going to be performed, applying 3D image analysis and fracture mechanics. The characteristics of stress conditions in model pipeline are correlated with un-steady flow. Using image analysis method, a relationship different inner water pressure conditions and detected fracture mechanics parameters are correlated. By NDT monitoring in service pipeline based on these results, the stress-strain characteristics is successfully detected by 3D image analysis.

Hardening mechanisms in a high wall thickness sour service pipe steel API 5L X65 before and after post-welding heat treatments

The strength of the pipe region opposite to the weld in a high wall thickness sour service pipeline steel API 5L X65, manufactured by the SAW UOE process, has been studied in detail. The fundamental hardening mechanisms that contribute to the yield strength of this pipe portion were determined according to its microstructural features before and after post-weld stress relieving heat treatment. The root mean square summation of the different strengthening mechanisms resulted in a reasonable estimate of the yield strength of this pipe portion before the heat treatment. The contributions of the different strengthening mechanisms proceeded at different length scales in this pipe portion before and after the heat treatment. The heat treatment at 650 °C (1.5 h) reduced the contributions of the strengthening mechanisms to the steel yield strength corresponding to this pipe portion. The dislocation strengthening contribution decreased by approximately 50%. The precipitation hardening and the solid solution and grain size strengthening reduced their contributions by approximately 14% and 3% respectively.

Optimisation of absorber parameters in the case of stochastic vibrations in a bridge with a deck platform for servicing pipelines

Abstract The paper focuses on the problem of optimising the cooperation between a dynamic vibration absorber (DVA) and a structure. The authors analyse a road beam bridge equipped with a working platform (deck) used to service pipelines installed on the structure. The paper studies the problem of choosing the optimal parameters for damping absorbers that reduce the random vibration of a beam subjected to a random sequence of moving forces with a constant velocity. The stochastic properties of the load are modelled by means of a filtering Poisson process. A single-degree-of-freedom (SDOF) absorber model with a multi-degree-of-freedom (MDOF) primary structure model are is considered.

Recruitment Strategies for a Sustainable Pipeline of African American College Graduates as Civil Servants

Government leaders have not been successful in their strategies for developing a pipeline of African American college students to address the absence of African American representation in civil service management positions. The civil service’s pipeline of African American college graduates is insufficient for demand. The purpose of this qualitative modified Delphi study was to build consensus among a nationwide expert panel of government-affiliated talent managers regarding a grand strategy for creating a sustainable civil service pipeline of annual graduating classes of African American collegians. The panelists’ generated six solutions, which represented the grand strategy for this civil service pipeline.

Small Molecule Microcrystal Electron Diffraction for the Pharmaceutical Industry-Lessons Learned From Examining Over Fifty Samples.

The emerging field of microcrystal electron diffraction (MicroED) is of great interest to industrial researchers working in the drug discovery and drug development space. The promise of being able to routinely solve high-resolution crystal structures without the need to grow large crystals is very appealing. Despite MicroED’s exciting potential, adoption across the pharmaceutical industry has been slow, primarily owing to a lack of access to specialized equipment and expertise. Here we present our experience building a small molecule MicroED service pipeline for members of the pharmaceutical industry. In the past year, we have examined more than fifty small molecule samples submitted by our clients, the majority of which have yielded data suitable for structure solution. We also detail our experience determining small molecule MicroED structures of pharmaceutical interest and offer some insights into the typical experimental outcomes. This experience has led us to conclude that small molecule MicroED adoption will continue to grow within the pharmaceutical industry where it is able to rapidly provide structures inaccessible by other methods.

MLaaS4HEP: Machine Learning as a Service for HEP

Machine Learning (ML) will play a significant role in the success of the upcoming High-Luminosity LHC (HL-LHC) program at CERN. An unprecedented amount of data at the exascale will be collected by LHC experiments in the next decade, and this effort will require novel approaches to train and use ML models. In this paper, we discuss a Machine Learning as a Service pipeline for HEP (MLaaS4HEP) which provides three independent layers: a data streaming layer to read High-Energy Physics (HEP) data in their native ROOT data format; a data training layer to train ML models using distributed ROOT files; a data inference layer to serve predictions using pre-trained ML models via HTTP protocol. Such modular design opens up the possibility to train data at large scale by reading ROOT files from remote storage facilities, e.g., World-Wide LHC Computing Grid (WLCG) infrastructure, and feed the data to the user’s favorite ML framework. The inference layer implemented as TensorFlow as a Service (TFaaS) may provide an easy access to pre-trained ML models in existing infrastructure and applications inside or outside of the HEP domain. In particular, we demonstrate the usage of the MLaaS4HEP architecture for a physics use-case, namely, the t{bar{t}} Higgs analysis in CMS originally performed using custom made Ntuples. We provide details on the training of the ML model using distributed ROOT files, discuss the performance of the MLaaS and TFaaS approaches for the selected physics analysis, and compare the results with traditional methods.

Conceptual Design of Gas Distribution Pipeline Network for Estates in Nigeria

This work presents the conceptual design of a gas distribution pipeline network for estates in Nigeria using the University of Abuja Staff Quarters as a case study. The problem statement was the aggressive consumption of cooking gas, referred to as liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), without gas pipeline networks infrastructures to homes and estates across Nigeria but relies on cylinders with its attendant danger. The methodology includes the determination of the gas demand from the average monthly gas consumption in each of the households, the elevation head, diameter of the pipelines, gas velocity, gas mass flow rate, head losses and the pressure drop analysis of series (option 1), parallel (option 2) and grid (option 3) options. The results obtained indicate that the best gas distribution design option for the trunk, reticulation and service pipelines was the grid connections to minimize investment costs with equitable pressures at service outlets. In the selected design option, the total length of the 50.8 mm diameter trunk pipelines was 19.52 m, while the total length of the 12.7 mm diameter reticulation and service pipelines were 3,223.34 m and 1,648.46 m respectively. The quantities of fittings required for the pipeline network layout were determined for an estate of 124 houses. The mass flow rates of the LPG in the 3 pipeline sections were found to be 0.39 kg/s and total head loss based on local resistance coefficients was found to be lowest in option 3 (1,568.33 m), which also has the least pressure drop of 67.84 kPa in the trunk and reticulation pipelines. It can be concluded that the optimized design could be adopted for the gas distribution pipeline network of University of Abuja staff quarters and other estates in Nigeria, with similar elevation and buildings layout.

Comparative Analysis of Natural Gas Pipeline Interconnections

The paper shows a comparison between two intervention methods for interconnecting two gas transmission pipelines within a natural gas transmission system. One intervention implies shutdown of pipelines, while the other one in-service pipelines. Each method is described in detail along with the main technological issues, as well as the related advantages and disadvantages. The technological procedures imply special working techniques such as welding or hot tapping in service pipelines.

Design of Imaging System and Tomography Detection Method for Radial Tires Structure Under X-Ray Short-Scan Mode

X-ray computed tomography (CT) is a widely popular non-destructive testing (NDT) technology for engineering, which also plays an important role in the NDT testing for radial tires. The steel wires in radial tires are densely arranged and regularly distributed, which usually need high-energy X-rays to penetrate completely. Due to the limitation of tire size and mechanical structure, it is sometimes impossible to scan full-360-degree. In this paper, a scheme of alternating short-scan tomography for circumferential slices on one side of the tire is proposed, and a set of special X-ray NDT instrumentation for radial tires is developed. This solution solves the problem of transilluminating the entire tire in traditional CT scans, and can effectively reduce the maximum penetration energy and radiation dose. Furthermore, the winding problem of high voltage cable and oil cooling service pipeline in the process of rotation is well avoided. Then, a short-scan CT reconstruction method with the offset rotation center is deduced, which can effectively eliminate the image artifacts caused by the connection line between the rotating center of the turntable and the focus of the ray source is not perpendicular to the imaging plane of the detector. Computer simulations and experimental results prove the correctness of the proposed compensation symmetry filling reconstruction algorithm. The proposed method can effectively improve the reconstruction accuracy and suppress the reconstruction artifacts. Based on this, the requirements of mechanical assembly precision can be relaxed, which has a certain engineering significance.

Effect of Embedded Pipelines within Slab Thickness on Punching Shear Capacity of Flat Slabs

Frequently, construction requirements demand to provide service pipelines passing laterally within slab thickness near the slab-column connections of flat slabs. The flat slabs including such conducted pipelines are expected to undergo a significant reduction in the punching shear capacity. For this purpose, experimental program was conducted in this study incorporating 10 specimens of reinforced concrete flat slab. One slab specimen was solid slab with no pipeline as a reference specimen and the other nine slab specimens were fabricated with either single or double pipelines passing through the slab thickness at different locations. Test results indicated that including pipelines within the slab thickness at a horizontal distance equal to or less than one-half of the slab thickness from the face of the column led to a substantial reduction in the ultimate load and the stiffness of the flat slabs. It was also found that the structural performance of a flat slab with double small pipelines horizontally aligned near tension face was more desirable than that of a flat slab with a single large pipeline. Furthermore, a modification is suggested to be introduced to the punching shear equation of Eurocode 2 to include the effect of the embedded pipelines in flat slabs.

Environmental and economic assessment of the impact of oil and gas production on the state of landscape and botanical complexes in the Urals

The article presents the results of environmental and economic assessment of the impact of oil and gas industry objects on the state of landscape and botanical complexes in the Urals. Using the example of two oil and gas fields, the complex impact of the construction and operation of this type of facility is shown. The greatest disturbances to the land are caused by the construction and operation of industrial sites for integrated gas treatment plants and gas distribution networks, wells and service pipelines, crane assemblies and piston start-up and intake assemblies. Despite the fact that according to the point system, the impact of the enterprise on biocenoses is assessed as “weak negative,” the impact of oil and gas production facilities has led to a significant change in landscape and botanical complexes. In addition to changing the geochemical state of landscapes and the redistribution of natural geochemical cycles, a change in the ecological structure of species of edificators, a change in their physiological and morphological functions has been established. This impact directly affects the state of forest ecosystems, water conservation, water regulation, and absorption functions of the forest. Economic damage from the operation of oil and gas production facilities is 137042, 00 rubles.

Differential Cytotoxicity of Haloaromatic Disinfection Byproducts and Lead Co-exposures against Human Intestinal and Neuronal Cells

Disinfecting drinking water with chlorine inadvertently generates disinfection byproducts (DBPs) which can cause potential adverse health effects to humans. Haloaromatic DBPs are a group of emerging DBPs recently identified, suspected to be substantially more toxic than haloaliphatic DBPs but have not been extensively studied. Simultaneously, service pipelines made of lead materials are widely used in water distribution systems and become a source of dissolved lead (Pb) in tap water. In this study, we investigated the cytotoxicity of nine haloaromatic DBPs and lead ion (Pb2+), both separately as well as in combination, to human epithelial colorectal adenocarcinoma (Caco-2) and neuroblastoma (SH-SY5Y) cells. Results show that the cytotoxicity of the DBPs against Caco-2 cells followed the descending rank order of 2,4,6-triiodophenol ≅ 2,5-dibromohydroquinone > 2,4,6-tribromophenol > 3,5-dibromo-4-hydroxybenzaldehyde ≅ 2,4,6-trichlorophenol > 4-chlorophenol ≅ 3,5-dibromo-4-hydroxybenzoic acid > 2,6-dichlorophenol >5-chlorosalicylic acid, and the cytotoxicity of the DBPs against SH-SY5Y cells followed a similar rank order, 2,4,6-triiodophenol ≅ 2,5-dibromohydroquinone > 2,4,6-tribromophenol > 3,5-dibromo-4-hydroxybenzaldehyde ≅ 2,4,6-trichlorophenol > 4-chlorophenol > 3,5-dibromo-4-hydroxybenzoic acid > 2,6-dichlorophenol ≅ 5-chlorosalicylic acid. Lead in water did not change the toxicity of 3,5-dibromo-4-hydroxybenzoic acid (to either cell-type) or the toxicity of 4-chlorophenol (to the neuronal cell-type); but Pb2+ exhibited different degrees of synergistic effects with other tested DBPs. The synergism resulted in different rank orders of cytotoxicity against both intestinal and neuronal cells. These data indicate that future prioritization and regulation of emerging haloaromatic DBPs in drinking water should be considered in terms of their own toxicity and combinatorial effects with lead in water.

ЭЛЕКТРОМАГНИТНОЕ ВЛИЯНИЕ ЖЕЛЕЗНЫХ ДОРОГ НА ТРУБОПРОВОДЫ НАЗЕМНОЙ ПРОКЛАДКИ

The arcticle describes results of determination of the induced traction network 25 kV
 on the pipeline with a diameter of 250 millimeters. This shows that due to the electromagnetic influence on the pipeline dangerous voltage can be induced. With a closing distance of 100 meters, the
 amount of voltage imposed on the pipeline at individual points of a pipeline earthed from both sides
 can exceed a voltage of 110 V. This circumstance requires special attention to protect the personal of
 the service pipeline.

Development and Application of Sour Service Pipeline Steel with Low Manganese Content

Comprehensive analysis on the requirement and evaluation result of pipeline steel for sour service is carried out in this paper. So as to provide technical support for the development of the high toughness sour service pipeline steel with low manganese content.The evaluation results shows that the high toughness sour service pipeline steel with low manganese content has excellent comprehensive properties, and the excellent comprehensive mechanical properties and corrosion resistance properties of trial products are achieved through reasonable composition and micro-structure design. The HIC and SSC test result complies with pipeline steel requirement for sour service drafted by major international manufacturers. In order to guarantee the application prospect of the trial products, the weldability of the sour service pipeline steel is analyzed finally, and the test result shows that HAZ softening can be improved when the cooling rate was higher than 20 °C /s.

Experimental and numerical investigation of reinforced concrete beams containing vertical openings

Horizontal openings in reinforced concrete (RC) beams are quite often used to accommodate service pipelines. Several research papers are available in the literature describing their effect. RC beams with vertical openings are commonly used to accommodate service lines in residential buildings in Kuwait. However, there are lack of design guidelines and best practices reported in the literature for RC beams with vertical openings, whereas the detailed guidelines are available for beams with horizontal openings. In the present paper, laboratory experiments are conducted on nine RC beams with and without vertical openings. Parametric study has been carried out using nonlinear finite element analysis (FEA) with changes in the diameter of the opening, various positions of the opening along the length and width of the beam, edge distance, etc. 50 finite element simulations were conducted. The FEA results are verified using the results from the laboratory experiments. The study showed that the load carrying capacity of the beam is reduced by 20% for the RC beam with vertical openings placed near the center of the beam compared to a solid beam without an opening. Significant reduction in load carrying capacity is observed for beams with an opening near the support (≈15%). The overall stiffness of the beam, crack pattern and failure modes were not affected due to the presence of the vertical opening. Furthermore, an artificial neural network (ANN) analysis is carried out using the FEA generated data. The results and observations from the ANN and FEA are in good agreement with experimental results.