Emerging Padding and Related Pipeline Construction Practices

Project Categories

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• Onshore Transmission Pipeline
• Outside Force Damage
• Repair/Rehabilitation
• Excavation Techniques
• Study Project

Main Objective

The objective of this project is to quantify the merits of modifications to existing construction practices and emerging practices related to pipeline padding.

Public Abstract

The objective of this project is to quantify the merits of modifications to existing construction practices and emerging practices related to pipeline padding. The work will assist the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) in determining the value of such construction practices when made in the context of performance-based inspection or re-inspection plans in response to pending pipeline safety legislation. The proposed project will complement and follow an INGAA Foundation project, which acts as co-funding and which is directed primarily at a qualitative evaluation of the potential of these techniques to improve productivity and improve safety. The combined effort will involve a field evaluation of these emerging approaches for benching pipelines and for bedding and padding in areas where native soils contain rock and other debris that could damage the pipeline or degrade its integrity over time.
Benchmarks for comparison will cover a variety of soil types, and existing as well as emerging practices, to provide a basis to assess improvements in contrast to current practices.