Article

SSWC Data from a Pipeline Inspection Using MFL and SMFL

It’s What You Don’t See That Matters: Identifying Selective Seam Weld Corrosion

Nearly 40 years ago, an 8-inch gasoline pipeline failed north of Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.A., resulting in a serious incident with significant environmental and property damages. To try to prevent something similar to this failure from occurring, the NTSB called for better data collection on pipeline leaks and failures, including those potentially related to selective seam weld corrosion (SSWC). SSWC occurs in the bond line of the longitudinal seam weld, where the corrosion attacks the long seam weld material preferentially compared to the surrounding base pipe material.