Attachment 7: Research Topics

Summary of Pipeline Safety Research Announcement 12 Topics

Safety Priority Area and Topic
Estimated Duration (Months)

Anomaly and Threat Detection
1.
Technology Development – Nondestructive Evaluation (NDE) Technologies for Pipeline Seam Toughness Evaluation 2.
Knowledge Development – Roadmap Development for Complex Pipeline Crack Inspection 3.
Technology Development – Standardize a Common In-Line Inspection Data Format for Run-to-Run Correlation 4.
Knowledge Development – Impacts of Reconductoring on Pipeline Safety 5.
Technology Development – NDE Technologies for Assessing Material Strength, Fracture Toughness, and Length Scale Effects in Pipelines

Liquid Leak Detection
6.
Technology Development – Innovative Technologies for Filtering Leak Detection False Positives 7.
Knowledge Development – Standardized Protocols for External Leak Detection Evaluation

Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG)
8.
Knowledge Development – Source Term Modeling for Non-Steady State LNG Releases 9.
Knowledge Development – Siting Guidance for Mobile and Temporary LNG Facilities 10.
Knowledge Development – Comparison of Performance versus Prescriptive-Based Maintenance Programs for LNG 11.
Technology Development – Assisted Operational Safeguards for LNG Facilities

Repair and Rehabilitation
12.
Knowledge Development – Standardized Evaluation Methods for Composite-Reinforced Transmission Pipelines

Threat Prevention
13.
Technology Development – Automation Technologies for Workmanship Error Prevention 14.
Technology Development – Proactive Supervisory Systems for Pipeline Operations 15.
Technology Development – Continuous Monitoring Systems for Pipeline Threat and Damage Detection 16.
Technology Development – Instant Notification Applications for Dig Law Violations

Pipeline Safety Research and Development (R&D) Program
Research Announcement 12 Detailed Topics
A. Priority Area: Anomaly and Threat Detection
1. Technology Development – NDE Technologies for Pipeline Seam Toughness Evaluation Objective and Background
Many vintage pipeline assets were installed without documented seam toughness requirements. Original material test records, where available, also frequently omit fracture toughness or Charpy V-Notch values. Current regulatory frameworks—such as 49 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) §§ 192.712 and 195.106—require credible toughness inputs, often forcing operators to rely on conservative assumptions, destructive cutouts, or pressure testing. The primary objective of this project is to develop and validate nondestructive evaluation (NDE) approaches capable of producing credible estimates of pipeline seam toughness for all pipelines, vintage and non.