The rise in girth weld failures in pipelines, particularly due to geohazard loading, has underscored the critical need for effective weld reinforcement solutions to ensure pipeline integrity. Girth welds, being the structurally weakest parts of a pipeline, are susceptible to failure from third-party damage, corrosion, weld defects, and geohazard-induced stress. Robust asset integrity management using proactive solutions is necessary for combatting these risk factors.
Reinforcement techniques, such as carbon fiber composite reinforcement, have proven beneficial in addressing these vulnerabilities, thereby maintaining the integrity of the pipeline system. This whitepaper summarizes the results of three integrity testing protocols for pipes using Advanced FRP System’s carbon fiber composite system to reinforce faulty girth welds.