Risk assessment of corrosion in oil and gas pipelines using fuzzy logic

Failure of pressurised pipe is a potentially significant hazard to people and the environment. Corrosion is one of the main causes of failures in pipelines. Corrosion is often accompanied by a high degree of uncertainty, since it is a dynamic process, and its rate does not follow a typical mathematical law in a lot of cases. There are various methodologies used to assess risks to pipeline integrity. Probability based models are the most complex, requiring substantial amounts of data for proper development. Fuzzy logic provides an easy way of dealing with complex problems because it can be built with fuzzy models containing vagueness and impreciseness in knowledge representation. A combination of fuzzy logic theory and expert judgement can be used to accomplish the modelling of the probability and severity of consequences. This paper presents the possibility of the use of fuzzy logic to assess the risk of corrosion in natural gas pipelines.