System and method to accomplish pipeline reliability

A system for facilitating a determination of whether to take pipe management action, the system comprising at least:

• a relation of pressure versus a quantification of the degradation of the structural integrity of the pipe;
• said relation being at least one of:
• a physically-viewable graph,
• an algorithm stored within a computer, and
• data stored within a computer;
• and
• said relation having at least::
• a zone of higher risk, and
• a zone of lower risk.

A method of facilitating the management of a pipeline, the pipeline comprising at least a plurality of sections of prestressed concrete cylinder pipe, the method comprising, in any order, at least the steps of:

• storing design data for each of at least a plurality of the sections, the design data comprising at least one dimension of each section;
• inspecting at least a plurality of the sections, said inspecting comprising at least evaluating the quantity of failed wires within the sections;
• estimating the maximum pressure that is likely to exist in future service within each of at least a plurality of the sections;
• using at least the design data, the quantity of failed wires, and the maximum pressure, designating a classification for the condition of at least a plurality of the sections;
• and
• implementing pipe management action based on at least one classification.

A computer implemented system for facilitating a determination of whether to take pipe management action, the system comprising at least:

• a processor, said processor being configured to:
• acquire a first parameter, the first parameter being a design parameter for the pipe;
• acquire a second parameter, the second parameter being an inspection parameter comprising at least information indicating the degradation of the structural integrity of the pipe;
• acquire a third parameter, the third parameter comprising at least a pressure within the pipe;
• and
• using at least a relation of the second parameter and the third parameter, output information to facilitate determining at least whether or not to take pipe management action.