Pipes and pipelines perform as a consequence of interacting with their environment/s. Degradation occurs through corrosion, causing a weakening of the pipe material. Structural loading of the pipe from such factors as surge pressures causes failure, sometimes without any loss of material strength.

 

From consideration of the important factors which influence pipeline performance, it is possible to statistically model the input parameters, such as:

1. Material type;

2. Diameter;

3. Installation Date;

4. External coating (if any);

5. Lining

6. General soil type or location; and

7. Hydrostatic pressure,

 to estimate Probability of Failure of Pipeline and Time to Failure.

 

This assessment can be further utilised to generate Criticality Ranking and CapEx Programming.