# US 10,370,830 B2 · Effective area metal loss clustering > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 10,370,830 B2 - Document ID: US10370830B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 15/653,361 - Filed: 2017-07-18 - Published: 2017-11-02 - Granted: 2019-08-06 - Earliest claimed: 2015-03-06 - Assignees: General Electric Company - Applicants: General Electric Company - Inventors: Steven Farnie - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10370830B2 ## CPC - E03B 7/07: Arrangement of devices, e.g. filters, flow controls, measuring devices, siphons or valves, in the pipe systems - G01L 7/00: Measuring the steady or quasi-steady pressure of a fluid or a fluent solid material by mechanical or fluid pressure-sensitive elements ({G01L11/004 takes precedence;} transmitting or indicating the displacement of mechanical pressure-sensitive elements by electric {, e.g., photoelectric} or magnetic means G01L9/00; measuring differences of two or more pressure values G01L13/00; measuring two or more pressure values simultaneously G01L15/00) - G01M 5/0025: {of elongated objects, e.g. pipes, masts, towers or railways (G01M5/0058 takes precedence)} - G01M 5/0033: {by determining damage, crack or wear} - E03B: INSTALLATIONS OR METHODS FOR OBTAINING, COLLECTING, OR DISTRIBUTING WATER (drilling wells, obtaining fluids in general from wells E21B; pipe-line systems in general F17D) - G01L: MEASURING FORCE, STRESS, TORQUE, WORK, MECHANICAL POWER, MECHANICAL EFFICIENCY, OR FLUID PRESSURE (weighing G01G) - G01M: TESTING STATIC OR DYNAMIC BALANCE OF MACHINES OR STRUCTURES; TESTING OF STRUCTURES OR APPARATUS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR ## Abstract A method of in-line inspection of integrity of a pipeline includes identifying a first prospective cluster related to at least a first feature of the pipeline and a second prospective cluster related to at least a second feature of the pipeline. The method includes calculating an effective area using Length Adaptive Pressure Assessment (LAPA) techniques. The effective area corresponds to a lower calculated burst pressure than surrounding areas of the pipeline. LAPA techniques are used to determine if the first prospective cluster interacts with the second prospective cluster. The method includes combining the first and the second prospective cluster when the effective area includes the first and the second prospective cluster to form a resultant cluster. The method further includes generating an indication of an attribute of the resultant cluster. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A method of in-line inspection of integrity of a pipeline, comprising: identifying, via a processor, a first prospective cluster related to at least a first feature of the pipeline and a second prospective cluster related to at least a second feature of the pipeline; combining, via the processor, the first and the second prospective cluster when a critical area includes the first and the second prospective cluster to form a resultant cluster, wherein the critical area corresponds to an area of the pipeline with a lower burst pressure than surrounding areas of the pipeline; and generating, via the processor, an indication of an attribute of the resultant cluster. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, comprising calculating the critical area using a Length Adaptive Pressure Assessment (LAPA) technique. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The method of claim 2, wherein the LAPA technique is used to determine if the first prospective cluster interacts with the second prospective cluster. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, comprising calculating the critical area using a Remaining Strength (RStreng) technique. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the first and second prospective clusters are determined by utilizing a multiple of minimum extent rule. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, comprising applying a background level of corrosion to the critical area. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the critical area corresponds to the lowest calculated burst pressure of the pipeline. ### Claim 8 A tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions configured to be executed by a processor, the instructions comprising instructions to: identify, via the processor executing the instructions, a first prospective cluster related to a first feature of the pipeline and a second prospective cluster related to a second feature of the pipeline; combine, via the processor executing the instructions, the first and the second prospective cluster into a resultant cluster when a critical area comprises the first and the second prospective cluster, wherein the critical area corresponds to an area of the pipeline with a lower burst pressure than surrounding areas of the pipeline; and generate, via the processor executing the instructions, an indication of the resultant cluster. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 8, the instructions comprising instructions to taper a background noise level around an edge of the first prospective cluster to model features in recovery areas. ### Claim 10 (depends on 8) The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 8, the instructions comprising instructions to determine if the critical area overlaps the first and the second prospective cluster. ### Claim 11 (depends on 8) The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 8, the instructions comprising instructions to calculate a burst pressure based on LAPA interaction, RStreng interaction, or any combination thereof, between the first and the second prospective cluster. ### Claim 12 An electronic device configured to assess features of a pipeline, comprising: a processor operatively coupled to a memory, wherein the processor is configured to: identify via the processor a first prospective cluster related to a first feature of the pipeline and a second prospective cluster related to a second feature of the pipeline; combine via the processor the first and the second prospective cluster when the critical area includes the first and the second prospective cluster to form a resultant cluster, wherein the critical area corresponds to an area of the pipeline with a lower burst pressure than surrounding areas of the pipeline; and generate via the processor an indication of the resultant cluster. ### Claim 13 (depends on 12) The electronic device of claim 12, wherein the first prospective cluster comprises a first box displayed on a display coupled to the electronic device. ### Claim 14 (depends on 13) The electronic device of claim 13, wherein the first box comprises a depth value, length value, and width value of the first feature. ### Claim 15 (depends on 14) The electronic device of claim 14, wherein the first prospective cluster comprises a second box if the distance between the first box and the second box is less than a preset multiple of a wall thickness. ### Claim 16 (depends on 12) The electronic device of claim 12, wherein the processor is configured to calculate the critical area using a Length Adaptive Pressure Assessment (LAPA) technique. ### Claim 17 (depends on 16) The electronic device of claim 16, wherein the LAPA technique is used to determine if the first prospective cluster interacts with the second prospective cluster. ### Claim 18 (depends on 12) The electronic device of claim 12, wherein assessment of the pipeline is performed in-line. ### Claim 19 (depends on 12) The electronic device of claim 12, wherein the processor is configured identify the first prospective cluster by determining if a first box interacts with a second box based on whether a distance between the first box and the second box is less than a multiple of a pipe wall thickness or less than a multiple of a length of the shortest box. ### Claim 20 (depends on 19) The electronic device of claim 19, wherein the first box comprises an attribute, wherein the attribute comprises a depth, length, width, location, or any combination thereof.