Pipelines are laid underground and because their job is to connect widely distant places, pipelines have some particular technical safety features. There are hardly any publications on pipeline accidents, at least in German speaking countries; most of what is available is in the form of reports by the fire services. However, these are not sufficient to provide an overview of the situation. For this reason, the Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing has evaluated many international reports of investigations and publications and summarised what they have to say about the risks inherent in pipeline failures, particularly the damage that results. This report is the outcome of this work. It is mainly accident reports from North America that have been analysed. When analysing pipeline accidents, it was noticed that a lot of cases of damage were time-delayed, i.e. externally caused damage as a result of excavation work often did not lead to an immediate failure of the pipeline. In many cases, the pipeline operator was not informed of this obvious damage, so he was unable to react to it. It is also salient that pipelines often run parallel to roads and railway lines. For structural and maintenance engineering reasons, this is an advantage, because if damage occurs, the site of the leak can be quickly reached. On the other hand, the cases of damage that have occurred would seem to indicate that there is a greater likelihood of a pipeline failure in these areas. Accident-related impact loads (e.g. train derailment 12.5.89 - pipeline rupture 25.5.89, San Bernardino) or the stresses and strains of traffic-induced vibrations are probably responsible for these failures. Despite the pipe information systems that already exist (e.g. ALIZ - information procedures on underground cables and pipes), pipelines are most frequently damaged by earthworks, i.e. by third parties, who are unaware of the pipeline route or who do not carry out their work with the necessary care.
On the risk of transporting liquid and gaseous fuels in pipelines
2009
65 Seiten, 15 Bilder, Tabellen, 18 Quellen
Report
German
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