Automated Creation of the Pipeline Digital Twin During Construction: Improvement to Construction Quality and Pipeline Integrity

The concept of the digital twin dates all the way back to the 1950’s when NASA, GE and other industrial manufacturers started creating abstract digital models of equipment to model their performance in simulations and maintain a record of the asset throughout its life span [1]. Over the years more and more industries have adopted the digital twin paradigm to improve traceability, maintenance, and analytics allowing for improved sustainment of the asset or equipment while reducing various risks identified during life cycle management. It has been found that collectively, the digital twin concept improves the overall net present value of an asset. The oil and gas industry has slowly been adopting the digital twin paradigm of asset life cycle management over the past two decades with the focus on facilities. Recently, field trials were completed to test and evaluate workflows and sensor platforms for the creation of a digital twin for pipelines. The trials resulted in highly accurate pipeline centerlines, weld locations, Depth to Cover (DoC) and ditch geometry capture in digital formats. This paper describes the methodologies used, and the results of an actual construction field trial with a comparison to traditional data collection methods for these attributes. The value of creating a pipeline digital twin during pipeline construction in near-real-time is discussed with an emphasis on the potential benefits to life cycle management and pipeline integrity.