PR-255-9616-R01 Fibre Optic Technology-Based Pipeline Structural Integrity Monitoring System

Increasingly, pipelines in unstable terrain are being monitored as a supplement to design stage integrity measures. The quantities monitored most often are strains and displacements. This report reviews an ongoing development program of a distributed fibre optic technology-based pipeline strain monitoring system. The basis of a system and its components are described. Data from large-scale laboratory pipeline deflection tests are presented. Also presented are the results from a state-of-the-technology review. Finally, future development issues for the practical implementation of such a system are identified.