Bayesian analysis of external corrosion data of non-piggable underground pipelines

A new Bayesian methodology for the analysis of external corrosion data of non-piggable underground pipelines has been developed. It allows for the estimation of the statistical distributions of the density and size of external corrosion defects from corrosion data samples taken at excavation sites along the inspected pipeline and can incorporate the detection and measurement errors associated with field inspections. Corrosion data obtained from field inspections of an upstream pipeline and from an in-line inspection of a transportation pipeline are used to illustrate and validate the proposed methodology.