Prediction of pitting corrosion-induced perforation of ductile iron pipes

The increasing rate of deterioration of buried pipelines has necessitated the development of a robust assessment method for their structural integrity and service life prediction. Among various deterioration mechanisms, ductile iron pipes are most prone to pitting corrosion and subsequent leakages. This paper intends to develop a methodology to predict the perforation induced by pitting corrosion on buried ductile pipes. The methodology integrates the random fields, gamma process, and copulas into an interrelated simulation algorithm for reliability analysis of pipe perforation. It is found that the average value of a pit depth predicted by the developed method is in good agreement with the theoretical mean of the proposed gamma process for pitting corrosion. It is also found that selecting an appropriate copula which models the dependent behavior of corrosion pits on pipes is very important to accurately predict pipe perforation. The paper concludes that the developed methodology can accurately predict the perforation of ductile iron pipe induced by pitting corrosion. Proactive asset management of buried pipelines can lead to considerable savings of resources and prolonged service life.