Set-up of new pipeline systems using a smart technology industry 4.0 compliant

Within the project “POR”, Regional Operative Plan of Calabria region “Assistance to the execution of industry-specific R&D complex projects and to the application of technological solutions aimed at the implementation of the S3 strategies.”, the companies Techfem S.p.A., Azienda Agricola Fangiano, Studio Ing. Antonio Pulice and Unical, a public university, have submitted an experimental research and development project aimed to the study of deformations on buried pipelines caused by landslides using strain gauges based on «Fiber Bragg Gratings».
 
The project is placed in the thematic area of innovation called “Environment and Natural Risks” according to the definition identified in S3 – Smart Specialization Strategy of Calabria Region and specifically in the technological trajectory “Early warning systems and emergency management linked to environmental risks”. The project is transversal to devices, sensors and solutions for the protection of the territories affected by geomorphological issues.
 
From a technical point of view, this project has a highly innovative impact also in the IT, in the operation of infrastructures of energy transport, and in the sector of maintenance. Nowadays, the new technologies allow to make a pipeline an active system able to provide information on the status of some mechanical properties of technical interest according to logic and strategies that will be developed during the project. This information will be conveyed on optical fiber and suitably filtered to reduce the number of data to the significant data.
 
The project comes from a precise technical need; the current economic situation and the environmental risk’s increasing, have led to a greater focus to the management of company assets. In the OiL&Gas transport market, the core business asset is the management of the pipeline network infrastructure. A knowledge of the physical state of the pipeline and specifically of some mechanical parameters linked to natural disaster (landslides and earthquakes) trough a remote interrogation of sensor located on portions of the network affected by critical events, allows an implementation of predictive maintenance strategies; this is reflected on risk reduction of pipeline’s damages, due for example to landslide events and therefore an efficient early warning system and emergency’s management related to environmental risks. The system in question consists in: FBG strain gauges network installed on a pipeline that is part of a prototype test bench; a concept of innovative FBG inclinometers; a signal interrogation system and a processing, diagnosis and alarm software, in order to preserve the pipeline’s integrity. This test is carried out through a prototype test bench at the “Azienda Agricola Fangiano” located in Celio area, in the municipality of Nocera Terinese (CZ).

The project is under development, the state of the art of FBG sensors was analyzed, with the identification of sensoristic solutions to be used in the prototype test bench at the Fangiano Company in the locality of Celio, Nocera Terinese (CZ); a geotechnical survey campaign was carried out to characterize the soil affected by the laying of a pipe that is an integral part of the prototype. An hydraulic system in order to move the ground against the pipeline has been designed and the construction works have been started in Celio locality, in Nocera Terinese (CZ) Municipality for the construction of the prototype test bench and restructuration of the control room. Finally, we are proceeding with the development of an algorithmic solution for the calculation of displacements starting from the reading of the deformations through the single strain gauge stations. It will follow other updates in the next newsletters.