Grant: Alliance Grants

Flow-induced structural effects, such as stress, vibration, fatigue, and crack-propagation, pose a major risk in operations and maintenance of pipelines at the heart of Canada's energy industry. Predicting structural impact of such features become more challenging in the presence of bends for pipes buried underground. The proposed R&D efforts aim at developing a machine-learning-based model that identifies flow-induced structural features in pipes at various operating conditions. An inter-disciplinary and diverse team of researchers are established to look at various aspects of this phenomenon. The final objective is to develop a comprehensive predictive model to characterize and forecast the formation and trajectory of flow-induced structural artifacts in pipes across a broad parameter space, e.g., flow speed, fluid viscosity, pipe inner diameter, bend angles, and surface material. This R&D project consists of three integrated themes that combine experimental, computational, and theoretical methodologies with their individual activities and timelines. In Theme I, fluid mechanics experts evaluate the physics of flow-induced loading in pipes, and develop semi-empirical models for vibration, stress, and fatigue, across a range of flow conditions and fluid properties. In parallel, structural experts in Theme II study the formation, propagation and trajectory of structural cracks, fatigue, and stresses in pipes. Finally in Theme III, the results are integrated within a novel machine-learning-based model to use flow data obtained from routine pipe monitoring processes to predict the formation and propagation of structural features in pipes. This project contributes to advancing knowledge in fundamental understanding of pipe flow dynamics, flow-induced loading, fatigue crack-propagation, and machine-learning-based physical models, while also developing a novel tool for bettering the operations and maintenance of pipelines. The impact of this project on Canada's energy industry is enormous by enhancing the safety and efficiency of pipelines and reducing their environmental footprint. Moreover, this project enables training of HQP to become future leaders in Canada.