Methods for estimating structural reliability using probability ideas are well established. When the residual ultimate strength of a buried pipeline is exceeded the limit, breakage becomes imminent and the overall reliability of the pipe distribution network is reduced. This paper is concerned with estimating structural failure of underground flexible pipes due to corrosion induced excessive de...

A mechanistic model is developed to predict the general corrosion rate at the top of a gas pipeline. This model covers the three main processes involved in the Top of the Line Corrosion (TLC) phenomena: the dropwise condensation, the behavior of the chemistry in the condensed water and the corrosion at the steel surface. The dropwise condensation process is modeled based on the heat and mass tr...

The importance of hydrogenase activity to corrosion of steel was assessed by using mixed populations of sulfate-reducing bacteria isolated from corroded and noncorroded oil pipelines. Biofilms which developed on the steel studs contained detectable numbers of sulfate-reducing bacteria (10 increasing to 10/0.5 cm). However, the biofilm with active hydrogenase activity (i.e., corrosion pipeline o...