[A GIS for a 3D Pipeline Management - A Practical Experience] Cindy Pubellier GeoSpatial World, June 2003, Atlanta, USA. Paper No. 185
Abstract Maintaining pipelines requires identifying the locations of pipes to be repaired, replaced, protected, or reinforced in the field. "Instrumented pigs" generate data about suspected faults (corrosion, deformation, leakage) but it is not enough to give the exact geographic location of the points of concern. Because pipelines travel up and down hills following the topography, a 3D model of the pipeline is indispensable in locating problems. The project ranges from data capturing in the field by land surveys, production of large scale plans (with land ownership data) and profiles (cross-sections), and calculating the 3D position of the welds by registrations to incorporating into the GIS the attributes of each 3D pipe from the "weld field books" dated back to World War II. This presentation will exhibit the project background and requirements, the solutions to the problems, and the workflow employed.
Cindy Pubellier Tel : +(33)6 (0) 6 67 73 26 75 E-mail :
[email protected]
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[A GIS for a 3D Pipeline Management - A Practical Experience] Cindy Pubellier GeoSpatial World, June 2003, Atlanta, USA. Paper No. 185
Introduction It doesn't take a disaster to remind us that we need to know the exact location of a city's gas valves. In that hidden infrastructure beneath our streets, accurate maps are the only way we can access the appropriate valves below -- and protect the public on the streets above. The same requirements for accuracy apply to emergency routing, or tracking hurricanes, or providing food and shelter for refugees, and on and on. Satellite data, street maps, and city sewer drawings must reflect the real world we all inhabit. So, as professional guardians of the world's GIS data, we must be able to certify its accuracy, availability, and accessibility. Let no one have to wonder -- is this good data? - Preetha Pulusani, President, Intergraph Mapping and GIS Solutions (Geospatial Solutions, Jan. 2002)
Managing underground pipelines requires a high precision geographic coordinates of the pipes and their corresponding attributes such as thickness, length and material. It is indispensable to have a full knowledge of these parameters, on one hand for daily inspections and general maintenance and most of all for urgent operations such as repair and replacement of tubes of pipeline in case of leakage for instance. Today, instrumented pigs* that detect and locate leakage, weak points and anomalies (or discontinuities of the pipeline) is capable of measuring the real distance traveled (the chainage in 3D) between the origin of the pipeline till the discontinuity detected in question. In the event of an emergency, one has to determine the corresponding geographic location such as name of town, street or address to reduce response time.
Instrumented pig and its operation
Cindy Pubellier Tel : +(33)6 (0) 6 67 73 26 75 E-mail :
[email protected]
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[A GIS for a 3D Pipeline Management - A Practical Experience] Cindy Pubellier GeoSpatial World, June 2003, Atlanta, USA. Paper No. 185
Since pipelines traverse up and down hills and hence are subject to significant change of altitude. Distance in 2D is very different from the real distance in 3D (measured by a leakage detector such as an instrumented pig). Pipeline pigs are devices that are inserted into and travel throughout the length of a pipeline driven by a product flow. They were originally developed to remove deposits which could obstruct or retard flow through a pipeline. Today pigs are used during all phases in the life of a pipeline for many different reasons. An instrumented pig can detect certain irregularities or anomalies in the pipe wall. This type of pig records the existence, location, and relative severity of the anomalies through use of recording equipment carried on board the pig. The pig can later be recovered and any external anomalies can be examined visually to verify their existence and severity.
distance measured in 2D (between points A et B)
TOPOGRAPHIE PIPELINE
Distance in 3D Figure : Extract of a profile in commune Grigny.
Cindy Pubellier Tel : +(33)6 (0) 6 67 73 26 75 E-mail :
[email protected]
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[A GIS for a 3D Pipeline Management - A Practical Experience] Cindy Pubellier GeoSpatial World, June 2003, Atlanta, USA. Paper No. 185
Before interventions, one has to know what tube is to be replaced, curved or straight, its thickness, diameter, length and most of all, where to dig.
In order to determine the location for
operations with precision and the attributes of the tube in question, it is necessary to create a data base of the tubes in 3 dimensions. Traditional pipeline management : Most of the pipeline databases in the industry are managed in 2D with features as “pipe segments” (that could contain thousands of tubes). In case of leakage detected by a pigging process for example, le probable intervention area is big and unreliable due to linear uncertainty. Wild preliminary digging means high cost and inefficiency. Amelioration with a 3D database : In a 3D GIS incorporating the data of weld books, individual ”tube” are modeled as a feature. Weld books are paper documents indicating the attributes of each tube at the time of construction (some date back to post World War II era).
A weld book
Response time is improved because the location is more precise.
Moreover, equipment
necessary for operations, which depends on the characteristics of the particular tube, can be programmed (attributes from the weld book).
Cindy Pubellier Tel : +(33)6 (0) 6 67 73 26 75 E-mail :
[email protected]
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[A GIS for a 3D Pipeline Management - A Practical Experience] Cindy Pubellier GeoSpatial World, June 2003, Atlanta, USA. Paper No. 185
The Workflow A suite of programs has been written for the 3D data model comprising of tube feature. 1. Establishment of pipeline in 3D
Data is captured in the field, the position of the pipeline (x,y) after detection by means of an electromagnetic device.
survey
detection
The layout of the pipeline in 3 dimensions is established from the altitudes ground of the detected pipe, the cross-sections, deviation data, data derived from drilling or digging. A program is written to find the altitudes of the pipeline according its depths.
Cindy Pubellier Tel : +(33)6 (0) 6 67 73 26 75 E-mail :
[email protected]
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[A GIS for a 3D Pipeline Management - A Practical Experience] Cindy Pubellier GeoSpatial World, June 2003, Atlanta, USA. Paper No. 185
2. Registration of pipeline sections
valve A
valve B
First of all, for each section we need to identify 2 homologous points (2 valves for instance), identifiable in the field as well as by the instrumented pig. The graphic distance and the distance measured from the pigging are never identical due to the following reasons : cartographic projection, uncertainty of the pig measurement, absence of altitudes of the pipe (some segments are without cross-sections). A scale factor is applied to the total distance on the graphics.
3. Segmentation of sections
According to distances written in the weld book or the pigging distances, the section is then truncated in 3 dimension. Programs were written to accomplish this task. -
points (3D) of weld are placed graphically according to the length of each tube
-
truncation into tubes graphically
Cindy Pubellier Tel : +(33)6 (0) 6 67 73 26 75 E-mail :
[email protected]
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[A GIS for a 3D Pipeline Management - A Practical Experience] Cindy Pubellier GeoSpatial World, June 2003, Atlanta, USA. Paper No. 185
4. Quality control Checks are carried out by a program to ensure the matching of all lengths.
5. create output file
The last program creates an ASCII file including the coordinates of the tube and the corresponding attributes. This file is to be used in ASCII Loader of MGE. “Tube” features are then created in the GIS with attributes from the weld books.
The GIS Once the Database is created with location of the individual tubes in space (3D), the environment, topographic features, land ownership data, easements and inventory devices such as valves and cathodic protection, queries can be carried out such as :
Finding the attributes of a particular pipe
Cindy Pubellier Tel : +(33)6 (0) 6 67 73 26 75 E-mail :
[email protected]
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[A GIS for a 3D Pipeline Management - A Practical Experience] Cindy Pubellier GeoSpatial World, June 2003, Atlanta, USA. Paper No. 185
Locating all the pipes (tubes) between 2 chainages :
Locating the concerned parcels
Cindy Pubellier Tel : +(33)6 (0) 6 67 73 26 75 E-mail :
[email protected]
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[A GIS for a 3D Pipeline Management - A Practical Experience] Cindy Pubellier GeoSpatial World, June 2003, Atlanta, USA. Paper No. 185
and the information about the land owners
Secondary data management A parallel application is developed in Geomedia for referencing documentation, files and secondary data through intranet access. The tracking of non-pipe impacting construction activities is also of vital importance in the business of Pipeline Management. Construction activities around the pipeline are monitored by the application for reference documentation like site plans, field notes, photographs, cross sections, trench details etc., are accessed through a hyperlink. This application can be “overlapped” with the main GIS through Intranet.
Cindy Pubellier Tel : +(33)6 (0) 6 67 73 26 75 E-mail :
[email protected]
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[A GIS for a 3D Pipeline Management - A Practical Experience] Cindy Pubellier GeoSpatial World, June 2003, Atlanta, USA. Paper No. 185
The Future Data acquisition and database creation is a very expensive and time-consuming process. However, a good base with accurate and consistent data is indispensable for mobile field operations and maintenance (location-based decision making and services). As the awareness of the value and importance of geospatial data and technologies grows, so do the demands for building a comprehensive and accurate spatial data infrastructure. It also allows the pipeline operator to perform an integrated and intelligent risk assessment and management so as to enhance safety and security for the public.
Cindy Pubellier Tel : +(33)6 (0) 6 67 73 26 75 E-mail :
[email protected]
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[A GIS for a 3D Pipeline Management - A Practical Experience] Cindy Pubellier GeoSpatial World, June 2003, Atlanta, USA. Paper No. 185
Author Information Cindy Pubellier CTO IDS 261 rue de Paris 93556 Montreuil France E-mail:
[email protected]
Biography Cindy Pubellier is chief technical executive and vice president of IDS, France. She has more than 15 years of experience in the GIS arena in various countries. She earned her B.Sc. (Honours) degree in surveying and mapping sciences in London. Before setting up the activities in IDS, she was the technical manager of automatic mapping production for Michelin, where she supervised the first digital maps and atlases of Michelin.
Cindy Pubellier Tel : +(33)6 (0) 6 67 73 26 75 E-mail :
[email protected]
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