Novel type-2 fuzzy logic approach for inference of corrosion failure likelihood of oil and gas pipeline industry

Among the various means of transportation of products from oil and gas industry, pipelines are considered to be the safest way. Still pipelines are to failure due to corrosion resulting (that causes) leakage and rupture. Although corrosion has the nature of uncertainty, the estimation of corrosion failure likelihood (CFL) is very difficult. To mitigate this difficulty, an analytic model for estimating CFL of oil and gas pipelines was developed by means of type-2 fuzzy logic controller system (T2FLCS) approach. The corrosion failure modes considered two types of events such as corrosion thinning and corrosion cracking. The major controlling factors of CFL of pipelines were Corrosion thinning factor, corrosion cracking factor, inspection effectiveness, and inspection times. The influence of controlling factors on type-2 fuzzy rules between the factors and CFL was determined. The assessment results derived from the model can be used as valuable reference for working out pipeline inspection and maintenance plans to a natural gas pipeline to assess the CFL.