Non-destructive Mechanical Testing of Pipelines

Strategic infrastructures made of pipelines transporting hydrocarbons across theworld are exposed to the risk of failure due to damage accumulation during operation. The degradation process is promoted by material aging and enhanced by harsh service conditions. Severe consequences can be prevented by the long-life monitoring and integrity assessment of materials and components. Structural diagnosis can be assisted by non-destructive mechanical testing. This chapter provides an overview on the procedures at present available for pipeline steels in this context. The information content of hardness and instrumented indentation tests is specifically addressed. The focus is on the reliability of the predictions that can be provided by small sampling sizes when experimental information and numerical simulations are combined. The significance of such methodology for the evaluation of the current properties of exercised pipelines is illustrated together with the relevant validation studies. The gains resulting from the progressive technological advancements are also evidenced.